Alex Eala exits Queen’s Club Championships in Jovic loss

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Alex Eala’s Queen’s Club Championships campaign ended swiftly in the Round of 16 with a 2-6, 2-6 loss to Iva Jovic on June 10, 2026, in West Kensington, London, United Kingdom.

It seemed like Eala just couldn’t figure out the tricky Jovic puzzle, receiving back-to-back defeats to her former doubles partner in the past three weeks.

On May 26, 2026, Eala also suffered the same fate, losing to Jovic in straight sets, which booted the Filipina ace out of the French Open.

Despite the change in surface from clay to grass, Jovic extended her mastery over Eala, banking on her aggressive baseline shot-making and first-service dominance.

Jovic immediately put Eala on the back foot after scoring an early break, followed by a service hold that pushed her lead to 5-2.

Eala, who once again had difficulty establishing her groundstroke rhythm due to Jovic’s flat and sharp baseline returns, failed to get it going and conceded the first set in lopsided fashion.

The 21-year-old Filipina netter tried to give Jovic different looks by maintaining her point of attack targeting the other end’s backhand side, but the laser-focused American proved to be too much and spoiled her with a barrage of down-the-line winners.

A crucial break point broke the 2-all deadlock midway through the second set, courtesy of Jovic, which once again stalled Eala’s chances of weaving her comeback magic on the grass court.

Eala’s window of opportunity narrowed when Jovic bagged another break point en route to a commanding three-game lead after taking care of the seventh game.

It was a more one-sided affair compared with their French Open duel, as Eala nearly made a come-from-behind rally in the second set of the clay-court matchup.

In the Queen’s Club Championships, Eala barely had any room to breathe, succumbing to Jovic’s all-around masterclass from start to finish.

After the Round of 16 clash, Jovic pulled away in the offensive department with 61 total points won, including four service aces, five break points, and 28 points on return.

On the other hand, Eala struggled with her consistency, tallying only 37 total points won, including 15 points on return and one break point out of two opportunities.