On the windy grass courts of Eastbourne, Alex Eala’s sport blew stronger than the breeze.
The Filipina tennis star continued her outstanding surge on grass with a commanding 6-1, 6-2 victory over Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska to achieve the semifinals of the WTA 250 Eastbourne Open. The win comes only a day after Eala surprised world No. 20 Jelena Ostapenko, additional cementing her repute as one of many tour’s rising threats.
Regardless of gusty situations, the 20-year-old Eala remained composed all through the match, utilizing deep, constant returns to neutralize Yastremska’s energy. With a disparity of 57-37 by way of whole factors, the sport was positively a one-sided affair in favor of Eala.
She broke her opponent’s serve in all seven alternatives and restricted her personal errors to simply 10, a pointy distinction to the World No. 42 Yastremska’s 24. Eala’s court docket consciousness and defensive reads allowed her to dictate tempo early and he or she by no means appeared again.
That is Eala’s second WTA semifinal look, following her breakout exhibiting on the 2025 Miami Open that first put her on the worldwide tennis radar.
Now driving a five-match profitable streak on grass, Eala faces France’s Varvara Gracheva (World No. 111) within the semifinals – a winnable matchup that would ship the younger Filipina to her first-ever WTA closing and assist her put together for the upcoming debut within the Wimbledon Open.
