Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala faces Japan's Himeno Sakatsume in the WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open Round of 16 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in Manila on January 28, 2026. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File
MANILA -- Filipina tennis sensation Alex Eala will open her grass campaign at the Birmingham Open, where she will take on WTA No. 143 Priscilla Hon in the first round.
They hold a 1-1 record vs each other, as Eala won their 2023 match in Roehampton 2. The breakthrough star took the victory in two sets, 6-2, 6-4.
Hon, meanwhile, won their 2024 match in Ningbo, China. The score was 6-4, 6-3.
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The Australian reached a career-high of no. 94 in 2025 and currently holds a 2026 record of 5 wins and 12 losses.
Eala is now the top seed in the updated draw, as Indonesian Janice Tjen is now second while still awaiting her opponent.
Tatjana Maria of Germany is the third seed who will face WTA No. 149 Linda Fruhvirtova.
The fourth-seed Talia Gibson will face American WTA No. 135 Elvina Kalieva.
In doubles, Eala partners with WTA No. 69 Nikola Bartunkova of Czech Republic to face second-seed Great Britain duo Harriet Dart and Maia Lumsden.
Dart is ranked 171 in singles and 109 for doubles. Lumsden is ranked 64 for doubles yet unranked for singles.
The order of play has yet to be announced.
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