Alex Eala rewrites history anew, reaches first career WTA final in Eastbourne Open

History-making Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala once again writes a big career chapter, this time with a breakthrough WTA final appearance, outlasting Varvara Gracheva of France in a gripping Eastbourne Open semifinal match

MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala already holds the record for the best finish by a Filipino in the pro tennis tour in the open era when she made the semifinals of the Miami Open last March.

Now she’s gone even farther, reaching the final of the WTA 250 Lexus Eastbourne Open after a 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 semifinal triumph over naturalized French Varvara Gracheva on Friday, June 27, at the Center Court of the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club in the United Kingdom.

The two just played each other last June 14 in the qualifying first round of the WTA 250 Nottingham Open, where Eala prevailed in three sets, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Eastbourne provided them a stage for a repeat performance in a high caliber battle that featured numerous outstanding exchanges.

Just like the first two sets, Eala started strong in the third set by opening a 2-0 lead. Gracheva, as she also did in the first two sets, answered by breaking Eala’s serve in the third game. The world No. 74 Filipina managed to keep Gracheva at an arm’s length away at 3-1, but the French world No. 111 leveled anew at 3-3.

In the seventh game, Eala fended off a break point in a game that had five deuces and held serve to retake the lead at 4-3, then followed it up by breaking Gracheva’s serve. The Filipina closed out the match after two hours and 23 minutes when she held serve in the ninth game of the deciding set.

The opening set saw Eala immediately put her stamp on the match, racing to a 4-1 lead. The Russian-born Gracheva finally settled in by the sixth game before going on a run, winning the next four games to take the lead for the first time at 5-4.

Eala, however, went on her own three-game winning streak to snatch the first set after 58 minutes.

The second set played out much shorter. The 20-year-old Eala once again opened a 2-0 advantage and appeared on her way to gaining control of the match, but Gracheva displayed the quality that made her peak at No. 39 in the world ranking in 2024.

The 24-year-old went on an incredible roll, blanking Eala the rest of the way to win the second set, 2-6, and extend the match to a decider.

The only time a Filipino made the singles finals of the pro tour was in 1999 when Cecil Mamiit finished runner-up in the ATP Sybase Open in California to then world No. 9 Mark Philippoussis of Australia. Mamiit, however, was still representing the United States that time.

Eala now awaits the winner of the other semifinal match between rising Australian teen star Maya Joint against former French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia before the final on Saturday, June 28. – Rappler.com