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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Friendship takes backseat as Eala, Jovic clash in French Open opener

Friendship takes backseat as Eala, Jovic clash in French Open opener

Published May 22, 2026 01:15 pm

At A Glance

  • Filipina ace Alex Eala and American Iva Jovic put their friendship aside as they were drawn against each other in the opening round of the French Open in Paris Sunday, May 24.
(ASB Classic IG post)
(ASB Classic IG post)
From friends to enemies.
Of course, only on the court.
Filipina ace Alex Eala and American Iva Jovic put their friendship aside as they were drawn against each other in the opening round of the French Open in Paris Sunday, May 24.
Fresh off their Strasbourg Open exits, Eala and Jovic meet in the tournament that also features the likes of world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan.
Reigning champion Coco Gauff of USA and three-peat French Open winner Iga Swiatek of Poland are also included in the star-studded field.
This marks the first singles showdown between the 20-year-old Eala and 18-year-old Jovic in the professional circuit.
Eala, currently at No. 38 in the WTA rankings, will be tested against the No. 17 Jovic after partnering in doubles a few times.
They beat veterans in multi-Grand Slam champion American Venus Williams and Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, 7-6(7), 6-1, in the opener of the ASB Classic doubles event in Auckland, New Zealand earlier this month.
There, they had a walkover in the quarters to reach the semis where they ultimately bowed to Chinese duo Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan, 5-7, 3-6.
Eala and Jovic then reunited last March as they paired in the WTA 1000 BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells) in Southern California where they dropped a 2-6, 2-6 loss to American Hailey Baptiste and Latvian Jelena Ostapenko in the doubles opener.
In the Strasbourg tilt, the Filipina yielded in the first round to Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine, 6-3, 5-7, 3-6.
Jovic, on the other hand, stumbled against her seasoned compatriot Emma Navarro, 4-6, 6-4, 1-6.

Related Tags

Alex Eala Iva Jovic Seynep Sonmez French Open
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