Eala hurdles Baptiste, enters Eastbourne main draw

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala wore down top-ranked Hailey Baptiste of the United States in a long three-set showdown, pulling off a 6-7, 7-6, 6-1 comeback win to make the main draw of the 2025 Lexus Eastbourne Open yesterday in England.

Eala dropped the extended opening set 6(1)-7 but took care of business in the last two frames of the qualifying round finale to shore up her preparations for the Wimbledon set on June 30 to July 11 in nearby London.

The 20-year-old Filipina, seeded No. 8,  came off an easy 6-1, 6-3, win over Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez in Round 1 of the qualifying rounds but needed to dig deep against WTA No. 56 Baptiste as expected.

It was a dogfight indeed with Eala, WTA No. 77, eking out a 7-6 win of her own in the second before a 6-1 masterclass in the decider for the win in two hours and 57 minutes. 

Eastbourne is part of Eala’s final build-up for another main draw debut in the grass court of Wimbledon after stints in three other tourneys this month in England.

A proud graduate of the Rafael Nadal Academy in Spain, Eala had a lone quarterfinal finish in Ilkley as she exited early in Round 1 of the Birmingham and Nottingham tourneys.