A year after giving 2024 champion Barbora Krejcikova a tough test in her debut campaign at Wimbledon, Alex Eala returns to the grass courts of the All England Club aiming for a deeper run at The Championships.
She does so having already etched another milestone in Philippine tennis history: Eala is the first Filipina to earn a seeded spot in a Grand Slam singles draw, entering Wimbledon as the No. 29 seed while carrying a world ranking of No. 32
The 21-year old's rise has been fueled by the finest grass-court stretch of her nascent career. Eala has a 9-3 record on the surface this season, highlighted by her breakthrough title at the Birmingham Open and a semifinal appearance at the WTA 500 Berlin Open --in which she scored statement victories over top-10 players Elena Rybakina and Elina Svitolina.
"I'm so honored to be lifting this trophy today," Eala said after defeating Nikola Bartunkova in the Birmingham Open final. "But lifting this trophy does not mean that I will be among the greats yet. So I'm motivated to keep working, and I'm grateful for the part that this trophy has played in my journey."
Eala's subsequent early exit in the Bad Homburg Open afforded her valuable time to recover and prepare for Wimbledon, where she hopes to surpass her best Grand Slam singles result of reaching the second round at the 2025 US Open following a victory over Clara Tauson.