FILE–Alex Eala of the Philippines. Al Bello/Getty Images/AFP
For the first time, Alex Eala will be playing for the title in the WTA Tour.
Eala scored a grindout 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 win over Varvara Gracheva of France on Friday to advance to the championship round of the Lexus Eastbourne Open.
The Filipino tennis star had to fight back from a wasted chance in the second set and a grueling decider against her French opponent, who pushes Eala to her limits throughout the match.
READ: Alex Eala rolls into Eastbourne Open semifinals ahead of Wimbledon
“I’m like super super happy because like it was a tough match,” Eala said during the on-court interview in between sobs. “There were really tough moments where she was playing well I didn’t know like how to get out of it, so I’m really happy with winning.”
In the opening set, the 20-year-old Eala opened with a 4-2 advantage before Gracheva, a fellow qualifier in the tournament, stormed back and even took the lead 5-4.
It had been the theme of the match for Eala, who again squandered an early 2-0 lead in Set 2 before Gracheva went on to win six straight games to even the match.
READ: Alex Eala set for Wimbledon stint
“It was a challenge for both of us physically and mentally,” Eala said of Gracheva. “She’s a really solid player and had some moments where she was really dominating so the fact that I was able to stay there and wait for my opportunity is a big achievement for me today.”
Eala broke Gracheva for a 3-1 lead in the decider but Gracheva, ranked 111 in the World, hung tough and tied the set at 3-3.
But there was no simply quitting for Eala, who dug deep to get over an exhausting stretch in the seventh game, then finished on three straight game wins to wrap up her entry into the final of the WTA 250 tournament.
Win or lose, this Eastbourne Open campaign is Eala’s best output in the WTA Tour after her semifinal run in the 2025 Miami Open in March.
She has had a dominant run en route to the championship round all the way from the Eastbourne Open qualifiers. She dominated Lucia Bronzetti in her main draw opener, moved past Jeļena Ostapenko and beat Dayana Yastremska in the quarterfinal.
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The Eastbourne Open is part of Eala’s grass court season build-up for the Wimbledon championships, which start next week in London.
