Alexandra Eala is ensuring that this will be a grass-court season to remember.
The Filipina tennis star has reached the third round of Wimbledon 2026 for a career-best performance at the All England Club, coming from behind to beat Maya Joint of Australia 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 on Thursday (2 July).
World No. 87 Joint was fresh off her statement win against Serena Williams, but Eala came through in one hour, 58 minutes amid a sea of Filipino flags. She has a mouthwatering match-up ahead against defending champion Iga Świątek, who beat former finalist Karolína Plíšková in straight sets.
“I really had to dig deep, especially after that first set,” the 29th seed said on-court. “Maya came out on fire, she came out ready and I was expecting a really good match… She is obviously coming off an amazing win. I watched it and she played really well and handled herself really well in that situation. So, congratulations to Maya.”
Their only previous meeting came on the Eastbourne grass last year, when Joint won a super tiebreak in the final to claim the WTA 250 title. A year on and 58 miles (94km) away at the All England Club, the Filipina has struck back in style.
“It hit me quite hard,” she admitted of the Eastbourne final. “I cried a lot and I don’t think I was able to watch those highlights for a couple of months. So, I’m really happy. I think I improved a lot in this past year and I’m happy that I’m able to look back at that loss and I’m able to smile.”
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Eala keeps breaking new records as she becomes the first Filipina female athlete to reach the third round of Wimbledon. It is no surprise given her form on grass this season, where she has won six tour-level matches including at the Championships.
A run to the Berlin semi-finals was the perfect preface to her maiden Slam as a seed, but the 21-year-old was up against the wall when Joint broke in the first game and claimed the opening set.
The Australian was in excellent shape and thriving on her smashes and forehand, yet frustration crept in as Eala pushed hard on the rallies and cut out her own errors.
Both players had strong support from London’s Filipino and Australian diasporas, and No. 3 Court heated up when Eala started playing a more commanding net game and picking out the occasional serve-and-volley combination.
Just as Joint had done in the first set, Eala began the decider by breaking the 20-year-old and piling the pressure on her serve. Joint faced nine points in her first two service games and fell to a double break, while the Filipina only grew with assurance en route to a flawless final set in SW19.
Eala has history with Świątek – she defeated the Olympic bronze medallist on her breakthrough run to the Miami semi-finals last year, before the Polish star exacted revenge in Madrid the following month. Expect a duel worthy of Centre Court between the reigning women’s singles champion and the in-form Eala.
