PREVIEW: Alex Eala takes on Donna Vekic at ASB Classic
Alta Sports3 months ago · 185 views
Photo: Getty Images
By Joel Reyes
All eyes will be on Alex Eala as she begins her women’s singles campaign at the 2026 ASB Classic against Donna Vekic on Tuesday morning (PH time) at ASB Tennis Centre in Auckland, New Zealand.
This will be the first-ever meeting between Eala and Vekic on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour. Eala will enter the clash as the 53rd-ranked player in the world, while Vekic is No. 69 in the current WTA rankings.
Eala made waves in the 2025 tennis season, accomplishing several historic feats in her young career.
She reached her maiden WTA 1000 semifinal at the Miami Open, with the Filipina tennis star ousting former Grand Slam champions Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, and Iga Swiatek in her remarkable run.
Eala also claimed her first-ever Grand Slam singles match win, beating No. 14 seed Clara Tauson in three sets in the first round of the 2025 US Open.
She won her first-ever WTA event at the Guadalajara Open last September before capturing her maiden gold medal in the women’s singles event of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand last month.
Eala will be tested against Vekic, who has won four WTA singles titles in her career.
The Croatian star also captured the silver medal in women’s singles at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Her best finish in a Grand Slam singles event came at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, where she reached the semifinals.
Vekic grabbed the headlines recently as she was on the provisional list of 24 players released by the WTA in the 32-player draw for the inaugural Philippine Women’s Open later this month.
She may also face Eala in that event as the 20-year-old hometown hero was awarded a wild card slot for that tournament, scheduled to begin on Jan. 26 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
—JMS, Alta Sports
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Monkey D Luffy
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