Alexandra Eala has enjoyed an exceptional start to her grass-court season and is arguably one of the in-form players heading into Wimbledon.
After all, having started her preparation by winning the WTA 125-level title in Birmingham, she followed that up with a solid sole win at Queen’s before scoring her biggest victory yet in Berlin.
Beating Elena Rybakina represented a hugely shocking result, particularly on this surface, with the Filipina sensation perfectly following up an impressive result against the Queen’s champion Donna Vekic.
She is proving herself to be a credible threat on this surface, with Wimbledon just around the corner.
And, this major comes at the perfect time for Alexandra Eala, who has just earned herself a huge boost which can only help her chances at the All England Club.
Alexandra Eala enjoys crucial Wimbledon boost after Elena Rybakina win
Last year, Eala suffered due to her ranking and was handed the unenviable task of facing the defending champion Barbora Krejčíková in the very first round.
Despite snagging the first set, she eventually fell to defeat, well beaten in the end.
Where does Alex Eala’s victory over Elena Rybakina rank among the best wins of her career?
She's through to the quarter-finals in Berlin!
The 21-year-old has actually never won a main draw match at Wimbledon in her career.
That could be set to change this time around though, given the fact that she will now be seeded at the event for the first time.
Having beaten Rybakina to reach the quarter-finals in Berlin, Eala secured the necessary ranking points to ensure that she cannot fall out of the world’s top 32, barring some truly exceptional results.
This should, in theory, provide her with a far easier start to the Championships, representing a huge boost for her chances.
Why Alexandra Eala performing on grass makes no sense
After beating Rybakina yesterday though, there’s no reason why Eala can’t feel confident of enjoying a deep run at Wimbledon no matter who she faces.
After all, the Kazakhstan star is the number two ranked player in the world and a former champion at the All England Club. This is her favourite surface, and Eala defeated her with remarkable ease.
To have dispatched Vekic too indicates that she is performing at an extremely high level and able to compete with these big ball-striking superstars.
It seems strange that a graduate of the Rafael Nadal Academy would be so adept on this surface, which plays incredibly differently from the clay.
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The world number two is really struggling…
Eala’s main strengths lie in her ability to scramble for every ball, with incredible movement and shot-making whilst on the run.
However, over the last few weeks she seems to have injected far more aggression and risk into her game, and it is paying off.
