Alex Eala up against another Wimbledon champion in Canadian Open 1st round

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POWER. The Philippines' Alexandra Eala in action during her first round match against Czech Republic's Barbora Krejcikova in the 2025 Wimbledon Championships.

Alex Eala returns to action after a well-deserved break at home as she faces a Grand Slam champion to kick off her campaign in the Canadian Open

MANILA, Philippines – Fresh off a short break that allowed her to come home to the Philippines, Alex Eala will look to sustain the strides she has made so far this season when she faces Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic in the first round of the Canadian Open on Sunday, July 27 (Monday, July 28, Philippine time).

Eala last saw singles action in the Wimbledon Championships on July 1 when she pushed defending champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic to three sets before succumbing, 6-3, 2-6, 1-6.

At the Center Court of the IGA Stadium in Montreal, the 20-year-old Eala will face another Czech who also previously won the only Grand Slam event played on grass.

The 26-year-old Vondrousova came out of nowhere in 2023 to win the Wimbledon Championships, making history as the first unseeded player in the Open era to become champion of the event. She dropped just two sets the entire tournament in an incredible run marked by consistency and dominance.

In Vondrousova, Eala will be facing a crafty veteran campaigner who, similar to Krejcikova, displays patience and forces opponents to engage in long rallies. Vondrousova hits with a lot of spin and regularly varies her shot selection with drop shots to keep opponents off balance. Eala will be facing a fellow lefty who is recognized as one of the best returners in the game, thus making it imperative for Eala to be sharp in her service game.

The Czech, however, has struggled with her form since last year due to health concerns. After the 2024 Wimbledon where she became only the second defending champion in history to be eliminated in the opening round, she was sidelined for half a year due to a hand injury.

She came back in January to join the WTA Adelaide, but withdrew from the Australian Open. She played in three WTA events in the Middle East in February, then was sidelined anew for three months to recover from injuries, only returning in late May for the French Open, where she reached the third round. She did show last June how good she truly is when in form when she won the WTA 500 Berlin Open. On her way to the title, she defeated Australian Open champion Madison Keys of the United States, rising Russian star Diana Shnaider, and world no. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.

Eala, though, will not be daunted by the prospect of facing another former Grand Slam champion. She is 3-2 this year when facing former Grand Slam winners, defeating Jelena Ostapenko, Keys, and Iga Swiatek during the WTA Miami Open. She fell to Swiatek and Krejcikova in three sets in subsequent tournaments.

It was at the hard courts of Miami last March where Eala had her breakthrough in the pro tour, enabling her to crack the top 100 of the world rankings and gain mainstream global prominence. The Filipina tennis standout will be rejoining the WTA tour which has reverted back to the hardcourt season after the clay court season from April to early June highlighted by the French Open and the grass court swing from June to July which culminated in the Wimbledon Championships.

Although Sabalenka and world No. 6 Zheng Qinwen of China will not be joining the tournament, the Canadian Open will feature seven of the top 10 players in the world led by Keys, French Open champion and top seed American Coco Gauf, and Wimbledon champion Swiatek.

The Canadian Open is part of a string of hardcourt tournaments that build up to the last Grand Slam event of the year, the US Open, which runs from late August to early September.

Eala will be aiming for deep runs as among all tennis surfaces, she is known to be most comfortable playing on hard courts. In 2022, she achieved her best result in the junior ranks when she emerged the US Open girls’ singles champion.

– Rappler.com

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