Alex Eala’s first-round opponent in Madrid confirmed as she faces former French Open finalist
Alex Eala’s first-round opponent at the Madrid Open is former French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who had to come through qualifying to play in the main draw.
The two, who will meet for the first time on the WTA Tour, are on opposite ends of their careers as the 20-year-old Eala is making her way to the top while the 34-year-old Pavlyuchenkova is coming towards the end of her journey.
While Eala earned a direct entry into the main draw, the Russian had to win two qualifying matches to book her ticket at the WTA 1000 event.
And she did so in style as she upset Yuliia Starodubtseva – who was the No 1 seed in the qualifying draw – 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 for a 14th appearance at the Madrid Open.
Who Is Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova?
Pavlyuchenkova was born on 3 July, 1991 in Samara, Russia, and she hails from a sporting family as her father was a rower and her mother a swimmer whlie her brother Alexander Pavlioutchenkov is also a former tennis player, although he only peaked at No 704 in the ATP Rankings.
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Pavlyuchenkova had a brilliant junior career as she peaked at No 1 on the ITF circuit and won the Australian Open girls’ singles title and the US Open girls’ title in 2006 while she also finished runner-up at Roland Garros.
She successfully defended her Australian Open junior title in 2007 before making her Grand Slam main draw debut at Wimbledon later in the year, losing in the first round.
Her WTA Tour Singles Career
The Russian broke into the top 50 of the WTA Rankings in 2009, but her breakthrough at Tour level came the following year when she reached the semi-final of the Indian Wells Open.
Her first title arrived in 2010 as she won the Monterrey Open in March and later in the year she lifted the İstanbul Cup trophy before breaking into the top 20 of the rankings the following year.
Pavlyuchenkova’s biggest moment as a singles player came in 2021 when, while seeded 31st, she beat the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Victoria Azarenka and Elena Rybakina to reach the final of the French Open.
Her hopes of a Grand Slam title were ended by Barbora Krejcikova as the unseeded Czech won 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 to lift her maiden major trophy.
Pavlyuchenkova went on to peak at No 11 in the rankings on the back of that run, but that was the last time she played in the final of a top-level event with the last of her 12 titles coming at the Internationaux de Strasbourg in May 2018.
But the 2022 season turned into a difficult one as she struggled with form and a knee injury and slumped down the rankings, finishing the year at No 367.
Although she managed to return to the top 60 in 2023, she never really regained peak form, although she had some brilliant Grand Slam results in 2025 as she reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and US Open.
She started 2026 at No 44 in the rankings, but slipped outside the top 100 after failing to defend her Australian Open points.
Pavlyuchenkova At The Madrid Open
The Russian has had some success in Madrid as she reached the semi-finals in 2021, which ultimately set her up for her run to the French Open final a few months later, while she also appeared in the quarter-finals in 2011.
She lost in the first round of the WTA 1000 event last year.
Pavlyuchenkova has also had success in Madrid in the doubles as she won the 2013 tournament alongside Lucie Safarova.
When Is The Match Against Eala?
The first-round clash is set for Wednesday, 22 April and it is the second match of the day on Estadio Arantxa Sanchez, but it won’t start before 13:00 local time.