Alex Eala’s grass-court schedule revealed ahead of Wimbledon debut

Oli Dickson Jefford 02 Jun 2025 4:17 PM

Pictured: Alex Eala waits to return a serve.

Alex Eala in action.

After her Grand Slam debut, Alex Eala has her sights set on a maiden Wimbledon appearance at the end of the grass-court season.

The 20-year-old will become the first Filipina woman to play in the main draw at SW19, having fallen in the third round of qualifying at the tournament back in 2024.

Eala’s Grand Slam singles debut at the French Open ended in a three-set defeat to Emiliana Arango, though she was able to win a match in the doubles alongside Renata Zarazua.

Now, all eyes will be on how she fares in her biggest grass-court season to date.

Birmingham Open (June 2-8)

Just days after the end of her clay-court season, Eala is already in the UK for her opening grass-court tournament of the season.

The 20-year-old will be in action at the Birmingham Open, which will be held as a WTA 125 event for the first time after being downgraded from a WTA Tour-level event.

Eala is the third seed in the women’s singles draw and has been handed an intriguing opener against world No 152 Linda Fruhvirtova.

Though there is a significant rankings gap between world No 73 Eala and her Czech opponent, it will not be an easy test against an opponent looking to rediscover form after a challenging spell.

Top seed Alycia Parks has already been beaten in Birmingham, meaning Eala will be among those looking to take advantage.

The Filipina was also in the doubles draw in Birmingham, she and partner Rebeka Masarova beaten 6-4, 6-4 in a tough match against second seeds and established doubles stars Ellen Perez and Storm Hunter.

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Ilkley Open (June 8-15)

After competing in Birmingham, Eala will immediately head to Ilkley for the second of two WTA 125 events held in the UK on grass.

The world No 73 will be among the leading contenders for the title, with world No 53 and recent new WTA Tour champion Maya Joint currently in line to be the top seed.

The event has been upgraded from 2024, having previously been an ITF-level event.

It will be Eala’s main draw debut at the tournament, which will be held from June 8-15.

Among the other notable names entered alongside Eala and Joint are defending champion Rebecca Marino and Yuliia Starodubtseva.

Wimbledon (June 30 – July 13)

Eala’s grass-court season will culminate in perhaps the most famous tournament of them all, the 20-year-old set for her second Grand Slam main-draw appearance at the All England Club.

The Filipina just missed out on a main-draw debut last year after a tight straight-sets defeat in the final round of qualifying to Lulu Sun – who went on to reach the quarter-final of the women’s singles event.

Much like with Roland Garros, Eala’s ranking was high enough for her to automatically enter the main draw without having to worry about qualifying in 2025.