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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Alex Eala faces Australian rising star in Eastbourne finale

Alex Eala faces Australian rising star in Eastbourne finale

Published Jun 27, 2025 11:31 pm

At A Glance

  • Filipina ace Alex Eala squares off with Australian Maya Joint in the final of the WTA 250 Lexus Eastbourne Open in Great Britain this Saturday, June 28.
Alexandra Eala returns the ball to Varvara Gracheva during the women's singles semi-final match of the Eastbourne Tennis Open tournament, at Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club, Eastbourne, England, Friday June 27, 2025. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)
Alexandra Eala returns the ball to Varvara Gracheva during the women's singles semi-final match of the Eastbourne Tennis Open tournament, at Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club, Eastbourne, England, Friday June 27, 2025. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)
Filipina ace Alex Eala squares off with Australian Maya Joint in the final of the WTA 250 Lexus Eastbourne Open in Great Britain this Saturday, June 28.
Coming off a 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 win over Varvara Gracheva of France, the 20-year-old Eala tries to complete her marvelous run against the 19-year-old Joint, who outlasted Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (7-5, 6-3) to book her final ticket.
This marked the youngest finalists of the competition since 1981 -- the time where American Tracy Austin (18) got the best out of her compatriot Andrea Jaeger (16), 6-3, 6-4, to claim the crown.
Just like the world No. 74 Eala, Joint (No. 51) has impressed after eliminating elite players including Tunisian Ons Jabeur, Russian Anna Blinkova, and hometown bet Emma Raducanu on her way to the championship match. She is also a one-time WTA winner courtesy of her impressive stint in Morocco Open.
Eala, for her part, beat the likes of LatvianJelena Ostapenko (No. 20), Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska, and Italian Lucia Bronzetti, to list a few, with the aim of winning her first WTA Tour title.
It will be the first showdown between the two and it is expected to be a classic one for the rising stars of women’s tennis.

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