Alex Eala advanced to her first-ever WTA Tour final on grass after outlasting France’s Varvara Gracheva, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, in the semifinals of the 2025 Lexus Eastbourne Open on Friday (Philippine time) at Devonshire Park in the United Kingdom.
Thirteen days after their three-set battle in Nottingham, Eala and Gracheva produced another thrilling encounter. This time, the 20-year-old Filipina emerged victorious after two hours and 22 minutes, sealing the match in commanding fashion by winning her final service game with four straight points.
Currently ranked world No. 64, Eala will face either Australia’s Maya Joint or Russian veteran Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the championship match of this WTA 250 tournament.
Eala’s aggressive return game played a crucial role once again, just as it had in her previous match against Dayana Yastremska at the start of the deciding set. She, however, needed to fend off Gracheva in the seventh game of the frame, pressuring the Frenchwoman into errors and earning a crucial service hold for a 4-3 lead.
That tightly contested game ended on a costly unforced forehand error from Gracheva — a turning point that Eala capitalized on.
The advantage proved to be all Eala needed. She stood her ground on the last two games, mirroring her three-set victory (6-3, 3-6, 6-3) over Gracheva in the Nottingham qualifiers earlier this month.
It wasn’t a smooth path, though. Eala had to survive a rollercoaster opening set, initially leading 4-1 before Gracheva surged with four straight games to take a 5-4 edge. But the Filipina regained her composure, charging the net effectively and unleashing winners from the baseline — including two in succession — to reclaim the lead at 6-5.
Two errors from Gracheva handed Eala the twelfth game and the set.
Gracheva, however, roared back in the second frame. Despite falling behind 0-2 early, she strung together six straight games, taking advantage of Eala’s dip in rhythm and court coverage. The world No. 110 dictated the pace and sent the match to a decider.
But in the third set, Eala found her groove once more. Calm under pressure and focused in key moments, she played clutch tennis to book her place in the final — her most significant result on grass to date.
The win also came with major news: Eala has drawn defending champion Barbora Krejcikova of Czechia in the first round of Wimbledon, set to begin in three days.
