After battling through tough matches in the first two rounds, Alex Eala seems to have finally found her rhythm.
The Filipina tennis ace needed just an hour and nine minutes to dispatch American Kayla Day, 6-2, 6-2, on Saturday morning in the semifinals of the WTA 125 Guadalajara at the Panamerican Tennis Center in Mexico.
It was a duel between two former US Open girls’ singles champions: Eala lifted the crown in 2022, while Day won the title at Flushing Meadows in 2016.
Day, once ranked as high as world No. 84 in 2024, has since slipped outside the top 400 after being sidelined for seven months due to injury. She only returned to the pro tour this June.
The second-seeded Eala stumbled early, losing her opening serve in the first set to fall behind 0-2.
But that was as far as Day’s momentum went, as Eala stormed back to take the next six games and secure the set with ease.
In the second set, Eala quickly raced to a 2-0 lead.
Day, 25, who was fresh off an impressive straight-sets win over Emiliana Arango of Colombia in the quarterfinals, fought back to level the score at 2-2.
However, Eala slammed the door shut, sweeping the final four games to complete the victory.
This dominant win followed her quarterfinal triumph, where she also won in straight sets against Italy’s Nicole Fossa Huergo.
Eala is now within striking distance of her first-ever WTA 125 title. Her previous best finish at this level was a semifinal appearance at the Canberra International in Australia last January.
A victory on Sunday would give the 20-year-old her biggest career crown yet, surpassing the 2024 ITF W100 Open Araba en Femenino title she captured in Spain.
Awaiting her in the Guadalajara final is a familiar rival: Hungary’s Panna Udvardy. The former world No. 76 has been in top form all week, conceding only one set across four matches.
Udvardy also holds the psychological edge, having beaten Eala in straight sets, 7-6 (4), 6-4, in the second round of the 2025 Oeiras Ladies Open in Portugal last April.
