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RELIEVED. Philippine star Alexandra Eala celebrates after her match against Magda Linette of Poland (not pictured) on Day 5 of the 2026 Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium.
Geoff Burke/Imagn Images/Reuters
Alex Eala faces Austria's Julia Grabher to start her campaign in the Linz Open as she hopes to do well on clay, which has proven to be the most challenging surface for the Filipina star
MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala’s improvement over the past year will be put to the test as she begins the clay court swing in the Linz Open in Austria.
The Filipina tennis star starts her bid in the WTA 500 tournament against home bet Julia Grabher in the round of 32 on Tuesday, April 7.
Clay has proven to be the most challenging surface for Eala, who failed to make it past the second round in the four clay tournaments she took part in last year.
In 2025, the 20-year-old Eala lost in the round of 16 of the WTA 125 Oeiras Ladies Open in Portugal, crashed out of the round of 64 in the WTA 1000 Madrid Open in Spain, and got the boot in the round of 128 in the WTA 1000 Italian Open and French Open, posting a 2-4 win-loss record.
Eala stands as the favorite against Grabher, who enters the Linz Open with a 3-8 slate this 2026.
The 29-year-old Grabher, who currently sits at No. 89 in the world, has not won more than once in a tournament this year — a stark contrast to what Eala has accomplished as the Filipina reached the fourth round in her three previous WTA 1000 stints.
Eala advanced to the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships and made the round of 16 in the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open.
Aside from enjoying a better clay campaign this year, Eala also hopes to gain valuable ranking points after falling out of the world top 30.
Eala reached a career-high No. 29 ranking last March 16 but slid 16 spots to No. 45 following her Miami Open exit.
She slipped to No. 46 in the latest WTA rankings released on Monday, April 6.
Eala is the ninth-highest ranked player in the Linz Open field bannered by world No. 10 Mirra Andreeva, who is seeded first. – Rappler.com
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