Eala rips Zarazua, posts historic Grand Slam win
ALEX Eala makes history, becoming the only Filipina to win in the main draw of the Grand Slam in the Open era following a 6-1, 6-2 win over Renata Zarazua of Mexico in the Round of 128 of the Wimbledon Championships women’s singles event.
Photo courtesy of Wimbledon
Alex Eala made history on the grass courts of London, capturing her first-ever main draw victory at the Wimbledon Championships with a masterful 6-1, 6-2 demolition of world No. 75 Renata Zarazua of Mexico on Wednesday in the Round of 128 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
With the victory, the 21-year-old tennis sensation became the first Filipino seeded player to win a main draw match in a Grand Slam in the Open Era, joining local tennis icons Felicisimo Ampon and Raymundo Deyro as the only Filipinos to log a main draw win at Wimbledon.
Yet, the 29th-seeded Eala won’t have much time to celebrate. She immediately braces for a Last 64 showdown on Thursday against world No. 87 Maya Joint of Australia, who enters the match fresh off an explosive 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 upset of 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams.
Match time had yet to be announced as of press time.
The second-round encounter serves as a highly anticipated rematch of last year’s Eastbourne Open final, giving Eala a golden opportunity to exact revenge on the 20-year-old Australian, who defeated her for the title.
“I had a really great match with Maya last year so I’d love to have the chance to improve on some things,” said Eala, an alumna of the Rafael Nadal Academy.
“I’m very happy with my first round. I think that I played really well and kept the intensity throughout the whole match so I’m hoping to keep this momentum going.”
Joint is equally expecting a dogfight, especially after powering through the legendary Williams in an emotional encounter.
“We had an amazing, epic match the last time we played in Eastbourne, so I’m expecting the same kind of match this time,” Joint said. “I’m really excited.”
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A victory by Eala would propel her into the third round, setting up a potential blockbuster clash against either world No. 73 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic or world No. 3 Iga Swiatek of Poland.
If Swiatek advances, it will set up a rubber match between the two young tennis stars. Eala famously stunned Swiatek, 6-2, 7-5, at the Miami Open in March 2025 to break into the WTA Top 100, before the Polish star avenged the loss at the Madrid Open two months later.
Aside from her singles campaign, Eala is also slated to pull double duty on Thursday as she teams up with world No. 48 Nikola Bartunkova of the Czech Republic in the women’s doubles. They face the formidable tandem of Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia and Sofia Kenin of the United States in the Round of 64.
Basking in her historic singles debut, Eala credited her dominant performance to the passionate grid of overseas Filipino workers who turned the London court into a virtual home game.
“I was really surprised. The Filipinos keep surprising me in good ways,” Eala said.
