Alex Eala debuts in Indian Wells Open vs familiar foe

MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala begins her maiden campaign in the prestigious Indian Wells Open against a familiar foe.

Eala tangles with Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska in the round of 64 of the WTA 1000 tournament held in California, United States, on Friday, March 6 (Saturday, March 7, Manila time).

It will be the second duel between the Filipina and the Ukrainian after Eala swept Yastremska, 6-1, 6-2, in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Eastbourne Open in Great Britain in June.

Eala went on to reach the final in Eastbourne, falling just inches short of her first-ever WTA Tour title after a heartbreaking 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10) loss to Australia’s Maya Joint.

Climbing to a career-high No. 31 in the WTA rankings a week ago,  the 20-year-old Eala received a first-round bye in Indian Wells as one of the 32 seeded players. She slipped to No. 32 this week.

Her rise in the world rankings followed a run to the quarterfinals in the Dubai Tennis Championships — another WTA 1000 event — where Eala claimed her first top-10 victim of 2026 by stunning world No. 7 Jasmine Paolini of Italy before she fell to world No. 3 Coco Gauff of the United States.

While Eala has had a promising start to the year, 25-year-old Yastremska has struggled.

Yastremska, ranked 52nd in the world, lost her opening matches in Dubai and in the WTA 500 Merida Open in Mexico, although she advanced to the second round of Indian Wells with a 6-3, 6-2 beating of China’s Zhang Shuai.

Eala will also see action in the doubles competition as she teams up again with world No. 18 Iva Jovic of the United States, her partner in the ASB Classic in New Zealand in January.

Jovic and Eala go up against Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko and USA’s Hailey Baptiste in the round of 32. – Rappler.com