Alex Eala faces familiar Mexican foe in Wimbledon opener

MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala battles a familiar foe when she opens her campaign in the Wimbledon Championships.

Eala faces Mexico’s Renata Zarazua in the first round of the third Grand Slam of the year as determined by the draw on Friday, June 26.

Their clash comes two years after 28-year-old Zarazua won their first WTA Tour encounter, pulling off a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Eala in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Cary Tennis Classic in the United States. 

A lot has changed for the two since then.

Back then, the 28-year-old Mexican was the higher-ranked player at No. 104 — 40 spots above Eala, who was then only 19 years old.

Now, Eala is seeded in a major for the first time in her career following her rise to No. 30 in the WTA world rankings, while Zarazua sits at No. 76. 

A win over Zarazua will propel Eala to a second-round duel with either 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams of the United States or former tormentor Maya Joint of Australia.

Williams, 44, came out of a years-long retirement as she received a wild card in the prestigious tournament where she won seven titles.

Joint, ranked 53rd in the world, denied Eala a breakthrough WTA Tour crown when the Australian nosed out the Filipina in the nerve-racking final of the 2025 Eastbourne Open.

Eala enters Wimbledon with great promise having won 9 of her 12 matches of the grass-court swing, capturing her second WTA 125 title in the Birmingham Open and going as far as the semifinals in the Berlin Open. 

Other top players in the same bracket as Eala include defending champion and world No. 3 Iga Swiatek of Poland, No. 14 Jasmine Paolini of Italy, and No. 25 Clara Tauson of Denmark — all of whom the Filipina has previously beaten.

Aside from No. 3 seed Swiatek, the top five seeds are composed of No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, No. 4 Jessica Pegula of the USA, and No. 5 Mirra Andreeva of Russia. – Rappler.com