Alex Eala’s SP Open Round 2 opponent and potential tournament pathway revealed
Alex Eala has been one of the biggest WTA Tour stories of 2025, and her rapid rise is showing no signs of slowing down across her post-US Open swing.
After a historic summer, Eala made further history this past weekend by lifting the WTA 125 Guadalajara title — the biggest title ever won by a woman from the Philippines — and surged back inside the top 65 of the WTA Rankings as a result.
Now, the 20-year-old is continuing her momentum at the SP Open in Sao Paulo in her quest to win a first WTA-level title, and extended her winning streak to six matches thanks to a dominant 6-0, 6-2 win over qualifier Yasmine Mansouri.
Here, we look at Eala’s upcoming round two match against Julia Riera, and the Filipina’s potential pathway throughout the rest of the SP Open draw.
Who is Julia Riera?
Up next for third seed Eala is world No 188 Julia Riera, who impressed with a straight-sets victory over Vitalia Diatchenko in the opening round in Sao Paulo.
Despite being ranked outside the top 180 currently, the 23-year-old has a career-high ranking of world No 93, achieved in May 2024.
Riera came through qualifying to make her Grand Slam debut at the 2024 French Open, falling in round one, and again qualified for the main draw in 2025 — pushing Elena Rybakina to three sets.
The Argentine made her Wimbledon debut in 2024 and her Australian Open debut in 2025, though she has never progressed to the main draw of the US Open.
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Riera has won seven ITF Tour titles during her career but has struggled at times throughout 2025, with an 18-17 record for the season to date.
Her best result was a run to the semi-final of the WTA 250 Copa Colsanitas in Bogota back in April, though she was on a three-match losing streak before beating Diatchenko earlier this week.
This will be the third meeting between Eala and Riera, with their head-to-head currently level at one win apiece.
Riera defeated Eala in three sets in the third round of French Open qualifying back in 2024, before the Filipina turned the tables in a straight-sets triumph in Cary later that season.
This will be the first meeting between the two on hard courts.
Potential pathway forward
Riera will likely prove to be a tougher test than Mansouri in round one, though Eala is undoubtedly once again the favourite for victory in this match.
And, considering her rich vein of form, a deep run into the draw looks possible — but who exactly could she face?
Should the Filipina defeat Riera, she would then face one of Janice Tjen or Marina Okal’ova in the last eight.
Tjen has been one of the form players of 2025, and most notably came through US Open qualifying before knocking out top 30 star Veronika Kudermetova in round one in New York.
In Sao Paulo, the Indonesian defeated seventh seed Leolia Jeanjean in round one, and is perhaps the favourite to beat Okal’ova in their round two clash.
If Eala progresses past either Tjen or Okal’ova to reach the last four, she is projected to face second seed Solana Sierra.
Sierra’s momentum has cooled since her breakout Wimbledon run earlier this summer, though she beat Arianne Hartono in straight sets to start her Sao Paulo campaign.
The Argentine next faces history-making 15-year-old Nana Leme da Silva in the second round, before a potential quarter-final versus sixth seed Francesca Jones.
Should Eala ultimately progress to a second WTA final, she could end up facing top seed and home favourite Beatriz Haddad Maia.
Former world No 10 Haddad Maia is having a difficult season, though she dropped just two games in round one versus Miriana Tona.
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