Fourth seed Alex Eala had to fend off a spirited challenge from former world No. 17 Donna Vekic of Croatia, rallying from a set down to prevail, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, in their singles first-round encounter at the WTA ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, on Tuesday.
The opening round of the maiden WTA 250 event for 2026 has been littered with shockers. Second seed Emma Navarro of the United States, fifth seed Janice Tjen of Indonesia, and eighth seed American Peyton Stearns all fell on the wrong end of the upset axe.
Eala, however, made sure she did not suffer the same fate in a clash initially slated for the morning session but later rescheduled as the final featured match on Centre Court at the Manuka Doctor Arena.
Currently ranked 53rd in the world, the Filipina tennis star raced to a 3-0 advantage early and appeared poised to make short work of Vekic, who has struggled with her form since last year — a slump that has seen her slide to No. 69 in the rankings.
Vekic eventually found her footing as Eala had difficulty handling high balls, leading to several costly errors.
Coupled with savvy shotmaking that kept the Filipina on the move, the 29-year-old Croatian clawed her way back into the set and limited Eala to just one more game while winning six of her own to steal the opener.
The second set saw Eala attempt to create separation, only for Vekic to refuse to go away.
After Eala jumped out to a 2-0 lead, Vekic answered with a service break to knot the count at 2-2.
From a 3-3 standoff, Eala broke through to surge ahead, 5-3, and had her chances to close out the set on serve at 40-15. Vekic, though, showed her grit once more to close the gap at 4-5.
But Eala would not be denied a second time, breaking Vekic in the 10th game to claim the set and force a decider.
The third set proved to be just as gripping, with neither player willing to concede an inch as the score remained level after six games.
The breakthrough finally came in the eighth game when Eala broke Vekic to move ahead, 5-3.
Vekic again showcased her resilience by breaking back in the ninth to keep her hopes alive.
Eala ultimately put away the stubborn Croatian in the 10th game with another break of serve to clinch the victory after two hours and 38 minutes.
Eala will advance to the second round, where she faces another tough Croatian opponent in fellow 20-year-old Petra Marčinko, the former world No. 1 junior.
Ranked 82nd in the world, Marčinko opened her Auckland campaign with a three-set win over former world No. 33 Camille Osorio of Colombia.
The 20-year-old Eala’s victory over Vekic followed her doubles triumph on Monday, when she and 18-year-old American Ana Jovic outlasted Venus Williams of the United States and Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, 7-6 (7), 6-1.
Eala and Jovic will next gun for a semifinal berth against giant-killers Jesika Maleckova of the Czech Republic and Renata Zarazua of Mexico, who ousted top seeds Erin Routliffe of New Zealand and Asia Muhammad of the United States in three sets.
Eala and Zarazua are no strangers to each other, having reached the second round of the 2025 French Open women’s doubles as partners.
