Filipina tennis star Alex Eala resumed her giant-killing ways, beating world No.2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in straight sets 7-5, 6-4 in the last 16 of the WTA Berlin Open on Thursday at the Steffi Graf Stadion.
Eala, who made it to the WTA 500 tournament as a wildcard, came from behind to beat Rybakina in an hour and 32 minutes and match her career-best victory by ranking.
The win sent the 21-year-old left-hander into the quarter-finals in her tournament debut.
She also posted her first win over Rybakina, tying their head-to-head record at one apiece.
It was also the fourth win for Eala against top five opponents, and what a way to surprise one of the best grasscourt players on her favourite surface, where her patented groundstrokes are highly effective.
Eala outsmarts Rybakina
The Filipina star found herself trailing 4-1 in the opening set, as Rybakina fired three aces in the opening game and smacked two more for a love hold.
Eala changed her approach, focusing on hitting her returns more effectively to close the gap.
The adjustment helped the Southeast Asian Games gold medallist and WTA 125 Birmingham Open champion, keeping her mistakes to a minimum and forcing Rybakina to be careless by taking more chances.
As mistakes piled up for the Kazakh tennis star, Eala inched closer, holding Rybakina to love in the sixth game.
She forced a 4-4 tie after scoring her first break point with a down-the-line backhand winner in the seventh game and firing a pair of aces in the next.
Rybakina gave Eala a 6-5 edge, as she misfired on a forehand. The two-time Grand Slam champion saved a set point in the next game, but she surrendered a set to the Filipina netter when she committed her 23rd unforced error.
Knowing Rybakina’s calibre and her ability to come back, Eala continued to play it smart.
She broke the 27-year-old Rybakina in the third game, sparked by a backhand pass for 30-30 en route to a 2-1 edge.
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Big win for Eala
Eala made it 4-2 when she scored an ace and redirected a forehand with a crosscourt forehand winner to hold her serve and move one game away from an upset at 5-3.
Rybakina refused to back down; she brushed aside Eala’s first match point with a forehand winner, then held for 5-4.
In the 10th game, Eala recorded her fourth ace to tie it at 30-30.
That sparked a big rally that allowed the Filipina to take the win after Rybakina committed her final error.
The upset caps what has been a fruitful grass court swing thus far for the rising star: Eala is now 8-1 on grass in 2026, with wins over Rybakina, Queen’s champion Donna Vekic and fellow Berlin quarter-finalist Nikola Bartunkova.
Eala will face world No.8 Elina Svitolina, who beat German Eva Lys in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 earlier on Thursday, in the quarter-finals.
Other quarter-finalists include world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, world No.4 Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Linda Noskova and Paula Badosa.
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