Alex Eala booked her spot in the semifinals of the 2025 Lexus Eastbourne Open with an emphatic 6-1, 6-2 victory over Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska on Thursday evening (Philippine time) at Devonshire Park in the United Kingdom.
This marks Eala’s first semifinal appearance since her breakout run in Miami, where she stunned three former Grand Slam champions before falling to fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula.
The 20-year-old Filipina carried the momentum from her dramatic comeback win over Jelena Ostapenko in the previous round — a performance reminiscent of her Cinderella run last March.
Eala overcame a shaky start to defeat the Latvian star, 0-6, 6-2, 3-0 (ret.), earning her place in the final four.
On the breezy Court 1 along England’s southern coast, Eala imposed her will early in the second set, racing to a 3-0 lead by breaking Yastremska’s serve twice. Though the world No. 42 from Ukraine briefly responded with a break of her own, Eala wrestled back control in a tense fifth game to go up 4-1 — effectively swinging the momentum in her favor.
From there, the Filipina never looked back, taking two of the next three games to seal a convincing straight-sets win against the more seasoned Yastremska.
Eala also made a fast start in the opening set, quickly building a 4-1 advantage. Using the windy conditions to her favor, she applied pressure on return and capitalized on Yastremska’s unforced errors.
Her precision and aggressive groundstrokes earned her two breaks of serve, helping her cruise to a 6-1 finish.
As the match progressed, Eala’s confidence grew. She consistently found her targets from the baseline while Yastremska struggled to keep pace, ultimately surrendering the first set.
With this win, Eala advances to a semifinal showdown against France’s Varvara Gracheva — a rematch of their recent meeting in the Nottingham Open qualifiers. Eala emerged victorious in that encounter, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, en route to qualifying for the main draw just 12 days ago.
Now ranked No. 74 in the world, the 31st SEA Games double bronze medalist is showing once again that she belongs among the elite.
