Filipina tennis sensation Alex Eala will kick off her 2026 Indian Wells WTA 1000 tournament campaign against Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska in the round of 64 on Friday (Saturday, Manila time).
Ranked No. 32 in the world, Eala received a first-round bye. Yastremska, currently ranked No. 52, advanced by defeating Zhang Shuai, 6-3, 6-2, in the opening round.
The pair last met in the 2025 Eastbourne Open quarterfinals, where Eala dominated, 6-1, 6-1, before finishing runner-up to Maya Joint.
Despite being outranked, Yastremska holds three WTA singles titles: Hong Kong (2018), Hua Hin (2019), and Strasbourg (2019), while Eala aims to build on her strong 2025 performance, including reaching the finals in Guadalajara WTA tournament.
The winner of the Eala–Yastremska matchup will face either Coco Gauff or Kamilla Rakhimova in the next round.