Eala routs Mexican rival, advances to second round of Wimbledon

Alexandra Eala of the Philippines returns the ball to Renata Zarazua of Mexico during the women’s singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Tuesday, June 30, 2026.(AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Alex Eala opened her Wimbledon Championship campaign in style with a 6-1, 6-2 rout of Renata Zarazua on Wednesday, July 1 (Philippine time).

The 21-year-old Filipina imposed her will throughout the match, holding her serve and breaking the Mexican four times to advance to the next round.

This would be Eala’s first second-round appearance at the said Grand Slam, having exited early last year after losing her first match to former champion Barbora Krejcikova.

She awaits the winner between former world No.1 Serena Williams and Australian Maya Joint, who are playing as of this writing.

It was also a redemption of sorts for Eala, who lost to Zarazua in their first meeting two years ago in the quarterfinals of the ITF W100 Cary tournament in the United States.

Ranked No. 32, the 21-year-old Eala controlled the match from start to finish, firing 22 winners while committing just 14 unforced errors, only three of which came on returns.

After the players traded holds to open the match, Eala took control of the tempo, reeling off five straight games to capture the opening set.

She carried that momentum into the second set, breaking Zarazua in the opening game before holding for a 2-0 lead.

Although Zarazua got one game back, Eala broke again in the fifth game to stretch her advantage to 4-1 and cruised the rest of the way. — Kristel Satumbaga-Villar

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Credit belongs to: www.mb.com.ph