Eala beats Joint to earn Wimbledon third-round ticket

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Alex Eala waited more than a year for this rematch.

After suffering a heartbreaking tiebreaker loss to Australia’s Maya Joint during last year’s Lexus Eastbourne Open final, the 21-year-old Filipina ace made sure to come back stronger, and she did.

With authority.

In a loud and electric atmosphere on Court 3 of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Eala delivered a reverse sweep for the ages and cruised to a revenge win over Joint, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0, to formalize her third-round qualification in the ongoing Wimbledon Grand Slam tournament on July 2, 2026.

The second-round victory marked Eala’s third overall singles win on the Grand Slam stage, having previously won in the 2025 US Open Round of 128 against Clara Tauson and against Mexico’s Renata Zarazua during her opening campaign in this year’s Wimbledon on July 1, 2026.

Everything tennis fans wanted in a high-stakes second-round Grand Slam showdown was there.

Contrasting play styles, a grueling chess match, and a battle of high-risk tactical adjustments.

However, it was Eala who wanted it more, recovering after a shaky first-set loss to regain momentum in sets two and three, including a brutal bagel in the final frame.

It wasn’t the dream start Eala wanted in the first set after Joint quickly zoomed to a 3-0 advantage, hitting deep forehand returns that forced the Filipina netter into several unforced errors.

Although Eala was able to pull within a point, 3-4, Joint answered with another crucial break point, followed by another hold to officially draw first blood, 1-0.

Joint leaned on her efficient serving game and consistent groundstrokes to shake Eala early in the match, but the tables turned once the second set began.

To counter Joint’s deep flat balls, Eala doubled her baseline power while adding more placement to her shots, making her offensive focal point unpredictable.

The complexion of the match changed entirely when Eala broke serve in the third game of the second set to grab a 2-1 lead, then never looked back after frustrating Joint with a decisive 4-1 run to equalize the match at one set apiece.

After the second set concluded, Joint was visibly gassed heading to her seat, which Eala capitalized on for a stellar third-set masterclass.

Despite the one-sided result on paper, the first few games of the final frame were highly physical battles between the two tennis stars.

In the first and third games, Eala had to endure back-to-back extended games as Joint forced two deuces that seemed like an eternity.

After Eala survived those two crucial games, the world No. 32 WTA player steamrolled her way to a convincing finish, holding Joint scoreless in the final set to become the first Filipina to reach the third round of Wimbledon.

“Maraming maraming salamat po,” Eala said after the win.

“I also want to thank, you know, Maya’s fans or anybody else who watched. I think the atmosphere today was amazing. It was electric, respectful, and all that I could have hoped for.”

With the second-round win, Eala set up a highly anticipated third-round clash against six-time Grand Slam queen Iga Swiatek, who earlier took down Karolina Pliskova, 6-1, 6-3, to advance.