Eala reaches WTA world No. 33 after Birmingham win

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Filipina tennis star Alex Eala skyrocketed to world No. 33, improving four spots from world No. 37 after a title-sealing campaign at the 2026 Lexus Birmingham Open.

After five wins from the opening round to the championship stage, the 21-year-old ace amassed a total of 125 points, capped by a dramatic final victory over Czech netter Nikola Bartunkova, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

The momentum-boosting win was not only Eala’s first WTA title of the year, but it also broke her infamous 0-13 losing streak against tennis players from the Czech Republic.

Before getting the job done against Bartunkova, Eala dominated from the round of 32, overpowering Australia’s Priscilla Hon, 6-0, 6-2.

The round of 16 affair became more of a nail-biter after Eala withstood a second-set comeback attempt by Russia’s Alina Charaeva, 6-2, 7-5.

A familiar foe awaited Eala in the next round, as Mananchaya Sawangkaew, Eala’s opponent during the Southeast Asian Games gold medal match, was next in line.

Sawangkaew displayed her signature net game in the first set, but Eala’s groundstroke power once again proved to be too much as she repeated against the Thai netter with her third consecutive sweeping win of the tournament, 6-3, 6-2.

Eala dropped her first set of the tournament in the semifinals against Swiss challenger Rebeka Masarova but made up for it in the third and final set by scoring a crucial break midway through the frame, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

“To everyone who came throughout the week, withstanding weather and all of that. The organizers, the umpires, the ball kids, everyone who made this possible, thank you,” Eala said during the trophy presentation.

After her championship run in the Birmingham Open, Eala will now redirect her focus to the ongoing Queen’s Club Championship in West Kensington, London.

Eala is also set to join the Bad Homburg Open, where she will team up with legendary seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams in the doubles category.