WTA Birmingham draw: Alex Eala handed familiar foe in the first round as four Brits awarded wildcards
Roland Garros might have only just entered its second week, but the very first tournament of the grass court season is about to get underway in Birmingham.
The grass court swing is notoriously short, but it gives the British stars especially a chance to gain some much-needed experience and ranking points.
The Birmingham Open is set to feature four British stars in Harriet Dart, Katie Swan, Alice Dudeney, and Mika Stojsavljevic, all of whom have received a wildcard.
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Elsewhere, Alexandra Eala, Janice Tjen, and Tatjana Maria will act as the top seeds, with all three starting the tournament inside the top 60 of the WTA Tour.
Birmingham Open 2026 seeds
- Alexandra Eala
- Janice Tjen
- Tatjana Maria
- Talia Gibson
- Nikola Bartůňková
- Hanne Vandewinkel
- Ajla Tomljanović
- Lulu Sun
Despite her number one seeding, Alexandra Eala has received a difficult first round tie at the UK event, landing Priscilla Hon in the first round.
Eala and Hon are no strangers to each other in tennis, having played out two matches previously. Their last meeting came at the Ningbo Open in 2024, which went the way of Hon in straight sets.
The pair have even met on grass before, at a Roehampton W25 event in 2023. Eala won the match in straight sets, so they share a 1-1 head-to-head record.
The British players at the event have received a differing results when it comes to the draw, with Dart in particular seemingly drawing the short straw.
The British veteran will play fifth seed Nikola Bartůňková in round one, the Czech star who is currently ranked World No. 67 in the WTA Tour rankings.
The last five winners of the WTA Birmingham Open
- 2025: Greet Minnen
- 2024: Beatriz Haddad Maia
- 2023: Jelena Ostapenko
- 2022: Yulia Putinseva
- 2021: Ons Jabeur
Elsewhere, Stojsavljevic, who enjoyed a breakout moment at this year’s Billie Jean King Cup, has been handed a tricky tie against Australia’s Emerson Jones.
Dudeney and Swan have also drawn Australians in the first round and they will play Taylah Preston and Ajla Tomljanović, respectively.
The Brits will be hoping to continue the energy they set at the Billie Jean King Cup earlier this year when they stunned Australia in the opening round of the event.
The Birmingham Open will take place between the first and the seventh of June and will begin a run of tournaments in the UK during the grass court season.
Events in Nottingham, Eastbourne, and Queen’s will follow in June before two weeks of Wimbledon at the end of the month into July.
