For the second time in her career, Alexandra Eala has defeated the World No. 2.
The first instance came on the hard courts of Miami 2025, where Eala defeated Iga Swiatek in her career-defining breakout run. It’s taken over a year to replicate such a high-ranked win, but it’s well worth the wait as, Thursday evening in Berlin, Eala overcame Elena Rybakina in straight sets to advance to the quarterfinals.
Eala’s win against Rybakina is reminiscent of her victory over Swiatek, but this time it’s far less unexpected. In the last two years, Eala has proved herself as a solid grass courter, and a statement win like this feels like it’s been a long time coming.
Alexandra Eala’s Grass Court Resume
Growing on Grass
In her first Tour-level grass court season last year, things didn’t immediately click for Eala. She lost in the first round of two of her first three events and didn’t find her footing right at the start. But it didn’t take long for Eala to settle in.
Competing at Eastbourne the week before Wimbledon, Eala made the biggest final of her career, coming through qualifying and storming her way through the week. She very nearly won the title as she held championship points, but lost in a close third-set tiebreak to Maya Joint. As much as that loss stung, it was an important stepping stone for Eala and an experience that could help her down the line. When Eala finds herself in close finals again, she’ll know how it feels to be in that moment.
In her first main-draw appearance at Wimbledon, Eala was saddled with the unfortunate draw of 2024 champion Barbora Krejcikova in the first round. Though she couldn’t manage the upset, Eala did take a set and left the 2025 grass season with nothing but potential.
And she immediately fulfilled it as the 2026 grass season came around. After an early loss in the French Open, Eala went to the WTA 125 in Birmingham, where she won the title, coming through a tight three-set final against Nikola Bartunkova. A subsequent second-round loss in Queen’s Club didn’t deter her as she set her sights on a tough Berlin draw.
Dethroning Champions
In a field this stacked, there are no easy matches, and Eala has managed the tough competition. In the first round, she faced last week’s Queen’s Club champion Donna Vekic, who has been nothing short of resurgent this year.
Eala won a back-and-forth first set, then maintained an early break advantage in the second to win in straight sets, setting up a match against Rybakina. The last time she played a former Wimbledon champion on grass, it was the three-set loss to Krejcikova. This time, Eala flipped the script.
Down 4-1 in the first set, Eala won six of the next seven games to take the set, putting herself out in front. She took advantage of errors from Rybakina and constantly forced Rybakina to play an extra ball in rallies. And an advantage grass gives Eala is a boost to her serve, which tends to be the weakest part of her game. In Eala’s match against Rybakina on clay in Rome, Eala won 53% of her service points, but on grass in Berlin she won 65%. It made a difference.
Eala went up an early break in the second set and consolidated every time she had to, not facing a single break point on serve in the second set. She produced clutch aces when she needed it, and while her ability to win rallies gave her the edge in the match, taking advantage of her serve on the grass is what sealed it.
It’s already been an excellent run for Eala in Berlin, but she has the potential to keep it going as she faces World No. 8 Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals on Friday. Win or lose, Eala has already more than proven herself on this surface.
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
