Alex Eala is a left-hander whose angles, early timing and competitive edge have made grass her most productive surface, and 2026 was the summer it showed at the highest level. She finished the season 6th in the women’s GTC Grass Rankings with a rating of 118, up from 16th.
Grass at a glance
- GTC Grass Rating: 118, 6th in the women’s rankings (16th before the season)
- Pillars: Lawn Form 88, Arsenal 64, Wimbledon 54, Nerve 66
- Nationality: Philippines
- Best Wimbledon result: Fourth round (2026)
- Grass titles: Birmingham 2026 (WTA 125); Eastbourne runner-up 2025
- Plays: Left-handed
How Alex plays on grass
Eala’s left-handed serve is her most useful grass asset. The slice wide on the advantage court pulls right-handers off the court and opens space for her forehand, and on a low bounce that first strike is hard to handle. She takes the ball early from the baseline, changes direction well and is comfortable using the short angle, which grass rewards because the ball keeps sliding away from the opponent.
Her Arsenal pillar of 64 reflects a game that is more rounded than overpowering. She does not yet have the pure pace of the leading hitters, so against heavy servers her return can be pushed back, and she is still learning when to move forward rather than extend rallies. Her Nerve score of 66 is the strongest part of her profile after form: she has won a run of tight sets against higher-ranked players, including a first-set tie-break against Iga Świątek in which she saved two set points.
Grass record
Eala trained for years at the Rafael Nadal Academy in Mallorca, and her first major grass result came at Eastbourne in 2025. She reached the final there, becoming the first Filipina to play a WTA final, and held four championship points before losing to Maya Joint 4-6, 6-1, 6-7(10) in a deciding tie-break. That run established her as a credible grass player before she had much tour-level experience on the surface.
The 2026 grass season
She opened as top seed at the Birmingham WTA 125 event and won it, coming from a set down to beat her doubles partner Nikola Bartůňková 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 for her second WTA 125 title. Her rating began the season at 106 and was unchanged after the week. At Queen’s she lost 2-6, 2-6 to Iva Jovic in the round before the quarter-finals, edging up to 107.
Berlin was the turning point. She beat Donna Vekić 7-5, 6-4, then world No. 2 Elena Rybakina 7-5, 6-4 from 1-4 down in the first set, and Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-4, before Linda Nosková, the eventual champion, beat her 6-2, 6-4 in the semi-finals. Her rating climbed to 110. A 3-6, 3-6 loss to Elise Mertens in her Bad Homburg opener cost her a point.
At Wimbledon, seeded 29th, she beat Renata Zarazúa and Maya Joint, then knocked out the defending champion Iga Świątek 7-6(9), 6-2. That made her the first Filipino player, male or female, to reach the fourth round of a major. Jasmine Paolini ended the run 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 on Centre Court, but the fortnight lifted Eala’s rating from 109 to 118.
Looking ahead to 2027
Eala now has points to defend across the whole swing, so the challenge in 2027 is consistency rather than surprise. A schedule built around one or two WTA 500 events before Wimbledon would suit her better than a heavy run of weeks, given the flat Bad Homburg result after Berlin. The improvements needed are a heavier first serve and a more aggressive return position against the leading servers. A realistic target is the second week at Wimbledon again, with a quarter-final the next step.
