On the windy grass courts of Eastbourne, Alex Eala's game blew stronger than the breeze.
The Filipina tennis star continued her remarkable surge on grass with a commanding 6-1, 6-2 victory over Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska to reach the semifinals of the WTA 250 Eastbourne Open. The win comes just a day after Eala stunned world No. 20 Jelena Ostapenko, further cementing her reputation as one of the tour's rising threats.
Despite gusty conditions, the 20-year-old Eala remained composed throughout the match, using deep, consistent returns to neutralize Yastremska's power. With a disparity of 57-37 in terms of total points, the game was definitely a one-sided affair in favor of Eala.
She broke her opponent's serve in all seven opportunities and limited her own errors to just 10, a sharp contrast to the World No. 42 Yastremska's 24. Eala's court awareness and defensive reads allowed her to dictate tempo early and she never looked back.
This is Eala's second WTA semifinal appearance, following her breakout showing at the 2025 Miami Open that first put her on the global tennis radar.
Now riding a five-match winning streak on grass, Eala faces France's Varvara Gracheva (World No. 111) in the semifinals - a winnable matchup that could send the young Filipina to her first-ever WTA final and help her prepare for the upcoming debut in the Wimbledon Open.