Alex Eala commences Madrid Open run vs. qualifier Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

Alexandra “Alex” Eala will face qualifier Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova as she opens her campaign in the Madrid Open on Wednesday at 7 p.m. (Philippine time).

World No. 116 Pavlyuchenkova of Russia secured her spot in the main draw after defeating Viktoriya Tomova, 6-3, 6-2, and Yuliia Starodubtseva, 6-4, 0-6, 6-4, in the qualifying rounds.

Pavlyuchenkova, 34, previously reached a career-high ranking of No. 11 in 2021. She owns 12 singles titles and has been competing in Grand Slam tournaments since 2007.

In 2025, she reached the quarterfinals of both the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Her best Grand Slam finish came at the 2021 French Open, where she finished runner-up to Barbora Krejcikova.

Eala, meanwhile, is coming off a Round of 32 exit at the Stuttgart Open last week.

Prior to Stuttgart, she advanced to the Round of 16 in the Linz Open, Miami Open, and Indian Wells Open. She also reached the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Abu Dhabi Open earlier this year.

The Filipina ace is also expected to compete in the doubles tournament alongside Zeynep Sonmez of Turkiye.

Season recap

Clay-court swing

• Stuttgart Open (WTA 500) — Round of 32
• Linz Open (WTA 500) — Round of 16

Sunshine Swing

• Miami Open (WTA 1000) — Round of 16
• Indian Wells Open (WTA 1000) — Round of 16

Middle East Swing

• Dubai Tennis Championships (WTA 1000) — Quarterfinals
• Qatar Open (WTA 1000) — Round of 64
• Abu Dhabi Open (WTA 500) — Quarterfinals

Philippine Women’s Open (WTA 125) — Quarterfinals

Australian Swing

• Australian Open (Grand Slam) — Round of 128
• ASB Classic (WTA 250) — Semifinals

—JKC, GMA News