Alexandra Eala has now beaten Elena Rybakina, Donna Vekic and Elina Svitolina already this week in Berlin, and there could be more to come.
Having struggled so often against the top players over the last two years, it’s incredible how, in just one event, the 21-year-old has already started to put this worrying trend to rest.
On all three occasions, Alexandra Eala managed to out-hit some of the WTA Tour’s biggest ball strikers, whilst using her superior speed and movement to her advantage as well.
It was all of these traits and more that led Tracy Austin to explain why she thinks this young starlet is already so adept on this particular surface.
Tracy Austin explains why Alex Eala is so good on grass
Discussing Eala’s grass-court prowess live on Tennis Channel’s feed, Austin offered her mid-match assessment of the Filipina.
She claimed: “She gets down so well, so that’s a huge asset, so you can adjust to poor bounces. It’s pretty flat so the ball moves through the court. Also, her serve has a lefty slice on it. So the leftiness is an advantage with the slice; it’s really helpful to keep that ball skidding and staying low.
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!
“Her return position, because Eala has such good timing, short take-backs, which is important. Great hand-eye coordination.”
The main reason for such praise came off the back of Eala’s incredible win over Elena Rybakina earlier in the week, backing up a stellar first-round victory against Donna Vekic.
Then, speaking after the game, the American pundit offered additional analysis: “She started out extremely well today, just mixing the ball up, the power close to the sidelines, tremendous depth, mixing in the drop shots as well.
“This is what she did against Rybakina, and she continued today, went so early on the return of Svitolina, really attacking the second serve of Svitolina.
“Svitolina was down a set and two love, looked like she was starting to make some headway.
But then Eala picked it back up. Hitting with authority. Plenty of time to move forward, and she looked comfortable up there.”
Alex Eala’s new record vs top-ten opponents
Unsurprisingly, Eala’s record against top-ten opponents has been drastically altered because of this Berlin Open run.
After all, she has added two more wins to her record, one of which came against the world number two no less, the biggest victory of her career in terms of ranking to date.
Naturally, her fairytale breakthrough run at the 2025 Miami Open got her off to the perfect start, with wins over Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek before Jessica Pegula ended her run.
| Year | Event | Opponent | Winner |
| 2025 | Miami Open | Madison Keys | Alex Eala |
| 2025 | Miami Open | Iga Swiatek | Alex Eala |
| 2025 | Miami Open | Jessica Pegula | Jessica Pegula |
| 2025 | Madrid Open | Iga Swiatek | Iga Swiatek |
| 2026 | Dubai Open | Jasmine Paolini | Alex Eala |
| 2026 | Dubai Open | Coco Gauff | Coco Gauff |
| 2026 | Indian Wells | Coco Gauff | Alex Eala |
| 2026 | Italian Open | Elena Rybakina | Elena Rybakina |
| 2026 | Berlin Open | Elena Rybakina | Alex Eala |
| 2026 | Berlin Open | Elina Svitolina | Alex Eala |
Swiatek quickly got her revenge in Madrid, but Eala returned to winning ways a year later, beating Jasmine Paolini in Dubai before losing to Coco Gauff.
She would then overcome the American, albeit through retirement, at Indian Wells.
Eala then lost to Elena Rybakina in Rome, but of course beat her earlier this week in Berlin, with Elina Svitolina next to suffer at her hands.
This means that, from ten meetings with top-ten opposition, Eala has won six and lost just four.
