Eala on possible Wimbledon collision course with Serena Williams

MANILA, Philippines -- After teaming up with Venus Williams, Alex Eala this time may cross paths against another legend in Serena Williams in the highly anticipated Wimbledon starting on Monday at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London.

The road to an elusive Grand Slam breakthrough for Eala could possibly go through a loaded bracket of greats, current stars and rising ones, including no less than former World No. 1 and 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams in Round 2.

Williams, coming out of retirement at 44 to play in a Grand Slam for the first time since her US Open stint in 2022, is a wildcard set for a tall order against rising star Maya Joint of Australia.

The 20-year-old Joint, WTA No. 53, is the tormentor of Eala in 2025 when she denied her a first pro title in England and could well serve as a tough opponent for the Filipina star.

The trek to the summit of the queen of grass then gets steeper from there with world No. 3 Iga Swiatek, No. 14 Jasmine Paolini, No. 8 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine projected to stand in the way of Eala from the third round to the quarterfinals.

Either one from No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, No. 6 Amanda Anisimova of USA or her kryptonite Linda Noskova of Czechia, No. 10, could be waiting at the semifinals to complete the bracket. 

The other bracket features other big guns in No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, No. 4 Jessica Pegula of USA, No. 4 Mirra Andreeva of Russia and No. 7 Coco Gauff of USA, who are tipped to slug it out for the other final ticket.

But that’s if – and a big if – Eala takes care of business in the first round against Mexican veteran Renata Zarazua, who beat her in the 2024 Cary Tennis Classic in the United States, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Eala, in a blooming career, has not gotten past the first round of any Slam main draw since being eligible for direct entries from a wildcard and qualifier last year.

If there’s a giant stepping stone she’s out to capitalize though, it’s being the first Filipina seeded player in Grand Slam history at No. 29 – thanks to an impressive grass season. At WTA No. 30, Eala moved up in the seeding following the withdrawal of world No. 9 Victoria Mboko of Canada due to a knee injury.

“I really like grass,” said Eala previously in the middle of her impressive grass campaign. "I think I have arrived in a much improved state than where I was last year so I'm happy about that.”

Eala sported a 9-3 record in grass tournaments this year, marked by winning her second WTA title in the Birmingham Open and a Final Four finish in the Berlin Tennis Open.

In Berlin, Eala scored massive wins against World No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and No. 8 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine before partnering for the first time ever with Williams of the USA, also a former world No. 1 and seven-time Slam queen in the Bad Homburg Open.

The 21-year-old Eala and 46-year-old Williams reached the quarterfinals of the Bad Homburg tilt, where the latter described the Pinay pride as the “best partner” for an extra fuel entering the Wimbledon.

Apart from the singles, Eala will also play in the doubles with Nikola Bartunkova of Czechia, falling at the upper bracket with a tough opening campaign against the eighth-seeded pair of Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia and Sofia Kenin of USA.

The Williams sisters are in the same doubles tourney as a wildcard albeit in the lower bracket for a long shot duel.