Alex Eala returns the ball to Ukraine's Elina Svitolina during the women's singles quarter-final match at the WTA500 Berlin Tennis Open tournament in Berlin on June 19, 2026. Tobias Schwarz, AFP
(2nd UPDATE) Alex Eala continued her dream run at the Berlin Open, upsetting world no. 8 Elina Svitolina in straight sets, 6-3 6-4, to advance to the semifinals of the WTA 500 grass-court tournament early Saturday (Philippine time).
The Filipina came out aggressively in the opening set, racing to a 3-0 lead as Svitolina struggled with unforced errors.
The Ukrainian got on the scoreboard at 3-1 after saving a break point, but Eala maintained control with powerful baseline hitting and confident grass-court tennis to move ahead 4-1.
Svitolina responded by cutting down on her mistakes and breaking serve to close the gap to 4-3.
However, Eala immediately regained momentum, breaking back from a 40-15 deficit to take a 5-3 lead before serving out the set, 6-3.
Despite Svitolina finishing the opener with 10 winners compared to Eala's eight, the former was hampered by four double faults and eight unforced errors.
Eala committed just one double fault and four unforced errors in a composed first-set performance.
The momentum carried into the second set as Eala battled through a hard-fought opening game and capitalized on another Svitolina double fault on break point to take a 1-0 lead.
Svitolina fought back and leveled the score at 2-2 after securing a break of serve, but Eala once again proved to be the steadier player.
Eala reeled off three straight games to move ahead 5-2. Svitolina managed to fight back and close the gap to 5-4, but serving for the match, the Filipina held her nerve and proved too good, closing out the set at 6-4 to seal the victory.
“I can’t believe it. I’m in shock right now,” Eala said after the match. “Elina is a huge fighter. I’ve been watching her since I was a kid. It’s an honor to play against her.”
Awaiting Eala in the final four is eighth seed and World No. 13 Linda Noskova.
Meanwhile, the draw for the Bad Homburg Open was also released, with Eala set to face World No. 24 Elise Mertens in the singles competition.
In doubles, Eala will team up with tennis legend Venus Williams as they open their campaign against the pairing of Shuko Aoyama and Liang En-shuo.