Eala out for revenge vs. Joint after Eastbourne heartbreak

Alexandra Eala (left) is raring to exact revenge against Maya Joint, who denied her a maiden WTA Tour title in the Eastbourne Open grass tournament last year. (WTA, Wimbledon)

WITH a dream match against tennis icon Serena Williams now dashed, Alexandra “Alex” Eala seeks to get payback against Australia’s Maya Joint when they clash in the second round of the Wimbledon Championships 2026 on Thursday in London, England.

The world No. 32 and 29th seed Filipina sensation tangles with the No. 87 Australian in the Round of 64 at a yet-to-be-determined time at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

Eala crushed No. 72 Renata Zarazua of Mexico, 6-1, 6-2, to clinch her breakthrough Wimbledon victory following a first-round exit in her debut last year.

Hours later, Joint pulled off a 6-3, 6-7 (4-6), 6-3 stunner over seven-time Wimbledon champion and 23-time Grand Slam winner Williams to set up the rematch with Eala.

The 21-year-old Pinay ace is raring to exact her revenge against the 20-year-old Aussie, who denied her of a maiden WTA Tour title in the Eastbourne Open grass tournament last year.

Eala came close to winning the WTA 250 tourney after taking four championship points, but Joint stormed back to come away with a 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (12-10) win in the scintillating final.

“I had a really great match with Maya last year so I’d love to have the chance to improve on some things that I could have improved from that match,” Eala said.

Joint is also looking forward to her second meeting with Eala as the two continue their budding rivalry on a bigger stage this time.

“We had an amazing, epic match last time we played in Eastbourne. So I’m expecting the same kind of match this time. I’m really excited and I think it’s going to be really fun,” the 20-year-old Aussie said.

Meanwhile, Eala expressed her gratitude to the throng of Filipino fans who trooped to the All England Club to witness her historic win in the opening round.

After becoming the first Filipino netter to be seeded in a Grand Slam singles, Eala made another remarkable feat as she emerged as the first Pinoy to win a Wimbledon singles match in the Open Era.

“The Filipino fans keep surprising me in good ways. I know how notoriously difficult it is to get tickets to this event, so to have what I would call a full house of almost all Filipinos is amazing,” Eala said.

“I never would have thought that at Wimbledon I would have like a home crowd so super thankful and I really enjoyed that,” she added. — Jeremiah Sevilla