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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Early clay grind tests Alex Eala after promising hard court run

Early clay grind tests Alex Eala after promising hard court run

Published Apr 15, 2026 02:38 pm

At A Glance

  • Coming off a promising run on hard courts, Eala found herself struggling at one of tennis' most unforgiving surfaces. Prior to her defeat over Fernandez, the 20-year-old Filipina ace absorbed a 6-4, 7-5 beating from Jelena Ostapenko in the second round of the Linz Open last week, where she squandered early leads.
Alex Eala. (Screengrab from Premier Sports 2)
Alex Eala. (Screengrab from Premier Sports 2)
Alex Eala’s early clay court campaign hit a rough stretch after back-to-back early setbacks, including a  6-1, 6-4 first-round loss to Leylah Fernandez at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany on Tuesday, April 14.
Coming off a promising run on hard courts, Eala found herself struggling at one of tennis’ most unforgiving surfaces. Prior to her defeat over Fernandez, the 20-year-old Filipina ace absorbed a 6-4, 7-5 beating from Jelena Ostapenko in the second round of the Linz Open last week, where she squandered early leads.
Eala’s first round exit in Stuttgart earned her a single WTA ranking point and a $13,211 (around P790,000) in prize money. She may have improved a notch to No. 44 in the live rankings as of Wednesday, April 15, but expect it to shift as this week’s tournaments in various cities progress.
With her Stuttgart campaign cut short, Eala now turns her attention to the Mutua Madrid Open scheduled April 21 to May 6, a WTA 1000 event ranked just one tier below the Grand Slams.
The tournament is expected to present a stiffer challenge than the WTA 500 Stuttgart event, with all Top 10 players in the world set to compete.
The event also serves as Eala’s springboard to her Roland Garros campaign set May 18 to June 7, where she has secured a main draw spot.
Last year, Eala made her clay-court Grand Slam debut but fell in the opening round to Colombia’s Emiliana Arango in three sets.

Related Tags

Alex Eala WTA Leylah Fernandez
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