Alex Eala outclasses Julia Grabher, advances to Linz Open second round

Filipina tennis star Alex Eala showed signs of improvement on the clay after claiming her first win on the surface in the 2026 season. 

Eala carved out a dominating 6-4,6-3 victory over home bet Julia Grabher in the Linz Open at the Design Linz Center in Austria, Wednesday morning (Philippine time).

The 20-year-old will be facing Latvian and fourth seed Jelena Ostapenko in the round of 16, where the Filipina holds a 2-0 advantage in their head-to-head count.

In 2025, Eala posted an abysmal 2-5 record in the clay season, failing to advance in the second round of the four tournaments that she joined. 

Eala is currently ranked world no. 46 after hitting her career-high ranking of no. 29 in March.