Alex Eala’s journey at the Linz Open came to an end on Wednesday following defeat to Jelena Ostapenko.
Ostapenko, who found herself 1-5 down in the second set, produced a stirring comeback to defeat the Filipina 6-4, 7-5.
Eala, who won her first clay-court match of the year against Julia Grabher on Tuesday, will live to rue her missed opportunities against Ostapenko.
Will Alex Eala ever win a Grand Slam title?
After all, Eala led the Latvian 4-2 in the first set, and 4-0 in the second set.
After securing victory, Ostapenko revealed how she motivated herself prior to her remarkable comeback against Eala.
Jelena Ostapenko expected a ‘tough’ match against Alex Eala when she first saw the Linz Open draw
“First of all guys, thank you so much,” Ostapenko said to the crowd in Linz. “I mean, I have great memories from here. It’s on clay, but I mean, it’s amazing place here to play.
“Thank you so much for coming. You helped me a lot today.”
The Latvian, who won the Linz Open title in 2024, had lost to Eala in their two previous matches on the Tour: at the 2025 Miami Open and 2025 Eastbourne.
Unsurprisingly, Ostapenko was expecting a difficult match against the Filipina.
“When I saw the draw, I was like, ‘wow, that’s a tough first round you know?’ Like, second round for me,” Ostapenko continued. “But she’s a great player.
“And you know, this year some good things are happening. I’m beating players that I never beat before, so it means I’m on the right way.
“I was down in the second set, and I told myself, ‘okay, I’m going to fight, I will do everything possible. I will fight till the end this set, and if there’s a third set, it’s fine. I still have another chance.’
“But I think it worked pretty well. I started to play my game and I didn’t give her a lot of chances.
Jelena Ostapenko’s potential path to the Linz Open title
- Quarter-finals: Elena-Gabriela Ruse
- Semi-finals: Mirra Andreeva
- Final: Ekaterina Alexandrova / Liudmila Samsonova
Ostapenko was then asked to comment on the tournament’s decision to switch from hard courts to clay.
The event, launched in 1991, was first held on carpet.
The tournament made the switch to hard courts in 2001 and continued with the surface until this year.
“Honestly, super happy, super excited,” Ostapenko said when asked about the switch to clay. “I was like, ‘wow, clay.’ I love it. It’s even better.
“I think it’s great, especially before Stuttgart [Open] there’s another clay court tournament because clay season is super short. Since I won the French Open, I enjoyed so much to play on clay.
“So it’s another opportunity, and I mean, in a great place. Thank you guys so much.”
For Ostapenko, she will hope to continue her good form in the quarter-finals against Elena-Gabriela Ruse, whom the Latvian has never played before on the WTA Tour.
Eala, meanwhile, will now travel to Germany for the Stuttgart Open.
On Tuesday, Qinwen Zheng’s withdrawal from the event was confirmed, handing Eala a spot in the main draw.
Top seeds in Stuttgart [projected]
- Elena Rybakina
- Coco Gauff
- Iga Swiatek
- Coco Gauff
- Elina Svitolina
- Jasmine Paolini
- Mirra Andreeva
- Karolina Muchova
Jelena Ostapenko’s title-winning Linz Open campaign
Ostapenko began her 2024 Linz Open run by defeating Danish star Clara Tauson in three close sets, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6.
She then comfortably defeated British player Jodie Burrage, before knocking out Wimbledon quarter-finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
In the final, Ostapenko wasted little time defeating Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2, 6-3
| Round | Opponent | Score |
| Round of 16 | Clara Tauson | 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 |
| Quarter-finals | Jodie Burrage | 6-1, 6-2 |
| Semi-finals | Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova | 6-2, 6-3 |
| Final | Ekaterina Alexandrova | 6-2, 6-3 |
It was Ostapenko’s second title of the year after winning the Adelaide International.
“It’s really amazing to win two singles trophies this year already, and winning a doubles trophy as well, [and] playing Australian Open [doubles] final — it’s like four tournaments and four finals, which is really great,” Ostapenko said after the final, as per the WTA Tour.
“I’m just happy with the way I’m playing this year. I think I feel like I’m more mature and more confident with my game, so it even motivates me more to work hard and get back to the top 10.”
