MANILA — Philippine tennis ace Alexandra Eala opened her 2026 Wimbledon campaign in commanding fashion, overpowering Mexico’s Renata Zarazua, 6-1, 6-2, on Tuesday (Wednesday in the Philippines) at the All England Club to notch her first-ever main-draw victory at the prestigious Grand Slam and book a place in the second round.
The 21-year-old Filipina, playing as the tournament’s No. 29 seed, displayed poise and power from the opening serve, dominating Zarazua in straight sets to continue her rise on the world stage. The victory also marked the second Grand Slam main-draw win of Eala’s career following her breakthrough triumph at last year’s US Open.
Making her debut as a seeded player in a Grand Slam tournament, Eala dictated the tempo from the outset and quickly built a 3-1 lead in the opening set before keeping Zarazua at bay.
The Filipina widened the gap to 5-1 and capitalized on a late opportunity in the next game. Trailing 40-30 on Zarazua’s serve, Eala strung together three straight points, sealing the opening set with a forehand winner for a 6-1 advantage.
Eala never let up in the second set, storming to another 5-1 lead with her aggressive baseline game and precise shot-making.
Zarazua managed to hold serve once more to delay the finish, but consecutive unforced errors by the Mexican handed Eala two match points.
The Filipina wrapped up the one-sided contest with another forehand winner, completing the straight-sets victory in dominant fashion.
Eala will next face Australia’s Maya Joint in the second round after the Australian survived a tough opening-round battle, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3, against former world No. 1 Serena Williams.
The victory also marked a major turnaround from Eala’s Wimbledon debut last year, when she bowed out in the opening round against eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova./PN
