Filipina tennis star Alex Eala is set to kick off the day’s lineup at the Steffi Graf Stadium this Wednesday with a challenging first-round match against Croatia’s Donna Vekic at the Berlin Open.
The highly anticipated grass-court encounter is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. local time (5:00 p.m. in Manila).
Eala enters the tournament looking to bounce back after a 2-6, 2-6 second-round exit at the Queen’s Club Championships last week against American teenager Iva Jovic.
Despite the recent loss, the 21-year-old Filipina has shown strong grass-court capabilities this season, having captured her second career WTA 125 title at the Birmingham Open by defeating her own doubles partner, Nikola Bartunkova.
Her first-round adversary, Vekic, arrives in Berlin with considerable momentum after winning her fifth career title at the HSBC Championships in London.
The Croatian veteran secured the championship by downing former US Open champion Emma Raducanu in straight sets, 6-0, 7-6. Wednesday’s match serves as a rematch for the two athletes, as Eala previously edged out Vekic in a tight three-set battle at the ASB Classic earlier this year, winning 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
In between her intense grass-court training blocks, Eala took time to explore the city, uploading an Instagram carousel of her experiences in Berlin. Her post captured an assortment of casual selfies, visits to local souvenir and carpet shops, alongside various culinary highlights.
The social media update drew engagement from fellow competitors.
German player Eva Lys left a localized recommendation on the post, commenting:
“We love a good schnitzel and Borchardt.”
Jovic also chimed in with supportive feedback, dropping a concise comment:
“yes yes yes.”
Eala’s choice of background track for the post—Elton John and Kiki Dee’s classic duet “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”—also caught the attention of her followers, with several fans affectionately teasing the young tennis player for being an “old soul.”