Philippines's Alexandra Eala reacts after a point as she plays against US Iva Jovic during their women's singles match on day 3 of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland-Garros Complex in Paris on May 26, 2026. Alain Jocard, AFP
MANILA (2nd UPDATE) -- Filipina tennis star Alex Eala is headed to the second round of the Birmingham Open after a masterful 6-0, 6-2 win over Priscilla Hon, Tuesday.
Eala, the top seed in the tournament, made quick work of her Australian foe to open her grass season on a triumphant note.
She needed just 30 minutes to take the opening set, and surged to a 5-0 advantage in the second.
Hon finally broke Eala in the sixth game to get on the board, 5-1, then saved a match point in the next game as the Filipina committed a series of errors that kept her foe in the hunt, 5-2.
Eala regrouped quickly, holding to love to wrap up the match after just over an hour.
"I think I'm really happy with my performance," Eala said after the match. "It's a really good win considering it's my first match on grass and obviously she's a great player so I'm really happy with the win."
"I think just give myself grace while also giving my all every single time that I can," she also said. "I think I've arrived in a much improved state than I did last year so I'm happy about that and I'm excited for what this season holds."
The win improves Eala's head-to-head record against Hon to 2-1. It also marks her first victory over the Australian on grass, with their previous two meetings having taken place on hard courts in Roehampton and Ningbo.
PROMISING START
The victory marks a promising beginning to a stretch of tournaments that Eala believes will test her growth as a player. After gaining valuable experience during previous grass-court seasons, the 21-year-old said she is approaching this year's swing with a different mindset.
"I'm joining a lot of tournaments that are higher in level and tournaments I haven't been to before so it's really exciting," she said.
While confident, Eala also acknowledged that grass remains one of the sport's most challenging surfaces. Unlike the longer clay and hard-court seasons, opportunities to compete on grass are limited, creating highly competitive draws.
"I think one of the challenges is that it's very short, for one," she said.
The second reason, she said, are the few tournaments. She also pointed to the unique playing characteristics of the surface.
"Grass, it brings a different dimension to tennis," Eala explained. "It's affected by the weather, just like clay, but also it's a very low game. It brings a lot of different dimensions to tennis."
Eala will next face the winner of the match between Germany's Greet Minnen and Russia's Alina Charaeva.
"Maraming salamat sa suporta," Eala told the Filipinos in the crowd at Birmingham. "Magkita tayo bukas."
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