Princess versus princess

Eala shreds Zarazua, gets shot at joint

MANILA, Philippines —  Forget a showdown with the queen. Up next for Alex Eala is a duel of young stars with an old rival. Princess versus princess. Eastbourne redux.

What could have been a dream showdown with tennis royalty has turned into a revenge mission for Eala as she disposed of world No. 75 Renata Zarazua 6-1, 6-2 while Serena Williams was sent packing in Round 1 of Wimbledon 2026.

But the plot only thickens. Eala instead finds herself facing Australia’s Maya Joint in a rematch.

“I had a really great match with Maya last year, so I’d love to have the chance to improve on some things from that match,” Eala said.

Remember Eastbourne 2025? Joint crashed Eala’s party then, saving four championship points to steal the WTA 250 crown 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(12-10). It was the youngest Eastbourne final since 1981, and it broke Filipino hearts.

Now they run it back on grass at the All England Club, fighting for a spot in the Wimbledon third round.

Eala will be chasing further breakthrough while Joint will come in out to prove Eastbourne was no fluke.

They had contrasting showings in the opening round.

On Court 12, 29th seed Eala was clean, clinical and composed in a brisk 78-minute win. On Centre Court, world No. 87 Joint showed grit and resilience in slamming the door on returning queen Williams 6-3, 6-7(6-8), 6-3.

Williams went down in defeat in a battle that lasted two hours and 22 minutes. It was her first match in 1,397 days since the 2022 US Open.

And so the Eala-Joint rematch is set.

The winner moves on to face either former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova of Czechia or world No. 3 Iga Swiatek of Poland.

“I showed a really good level of tennis and played the important points well. But no match is going to be easy here,” said Eala, who became the first Filipino to win a Wimbledon singles match in the Open Era and the first seeded player from the Philippines in any Grand Slam. “I’m very happy with my first round, so I’m hoping to keep this momentum going.”

Eala broke Zarazua twice to go up 3-1 in the first set and never looked back. The 28-year-old Mexican managed only two more games the rest of the way.

Joint, meanwhile, had to dig deep. She blew a 4-3 lead in the second set before closing out the seven-time Wimbledon champion in three.

“It’s an honor. She’s such a legend. I’ve been dreaming of this since I was a little kid,” Joint said. “Even though I didn’t win many matches this year, I feel like I could win. I