ROME, Italy — After turning back her gritty Polish rival Magdalena French in the first round of the 2026 Italian Open, Filipina tennis ace Alexandra ‘Alex’ Eala is set for a rematch against Chinese world’s No. 33 Xinyu Wang, who drew a bye into the second round.
The country’s rising star survived a feisty first-round affair against Frech, 6-0, 3-6, 6-4, in a grueling duel at the prestigious Pietrangeli Court of the Foro Italico in the Italian capital.
Eala battled back from a 1-3 deficit in the decider to secure a much-needed win after what has been a challenging campaign on clay so far.
After pulling off a bagel in the opening set, the soon-to-be 21 year old Filipina had to dig a little deeper with her Polish opponent making the adjustments and refusing to go down without a fight.
Frech, however, shot herself in the foot with her forehand struggles all throughout the match. The tough test against the Pole is just the start for what is expected to be a gauntlet for Eala in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 1000 event.
Eala, who recently improved to No. 42, now advances to the round-of-64 against nemesis Wang, who had beat her in their first-ever meeting that took place in the semifinals of the WTA 250 ASB Classic in Auckland last January the current year.
Wang outlasted the country’s pride in three sets, 5-7, 7-5, 6-4, in a match that swung repeatedly in front of a vocal crowd, bolstered by hundreds of Filipino supporters who snapped up ground passes, gathered around Centre Court and giant screens to cheer on Eala, creating one of the loudest atmospheres in tennis history.
From the outset, Wang appeared in control. She broke Eala’s serve twice in the opening three games to race into an early lead, before a huge roar went up when Eala finally held serve in the fifth game.
Wang served for the set at 5-2, was broken back. Two games later, Eala struck again, and when Wang double-faulted on set point at 5-6, the Filipino teenager completed a remarkable comeback to take the opening set.
“That was a crazy battle from the start to the end. Alex, she is such a fighter. I felt the pressure even when 5-1 up,” Wang said after the battle.
The second set followed a similar script. Wang again secured an early break, only for Eala to claw her way back behind relentless defence and the energy of the crowd.
BAt 5-3, Eala served for a place in the final and earned a match point, but her attempt to finish with a bold winner in the deuce corner sailed just long. Wang seized the reprieve, broke serve, and went on to level the match by taking the set 7-5.
“When she started playing unbelievable, there was nothing much I could do other than just clap for her good shots,” Wang continued.
“When we started the second set, I told myself it’s a fresh start. No matter how she was playing at the end of the first set, we’re going to start over now and I’m going to try to take every game, every point and every shot.”
Asked about the pivotal match point, Wang said her focus was simply on staying in the rally.
“When she hit it, I was just like, ‘OK, if it goes in, I can just clap. I want to give credit to myself, too, for trying to get to every ball, try to give her one more shot to play.”
Going back to the Italian Open, if Eala beats Wang, a match-up with World No. 2 Elena Rybakina in the third round likely awaits.
Last year, Eala was outclassed by Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, 6-0, 6-1, in the first round but this year, she got past the opening round in Rome for the first time in her young career.