Jasmine Paolini says Alex Eala's game is 'perfect' for grass courts

Jasmine Paolini gave Alex Eala a glowing assessment following their Wimbledon Round of 16 clash, which saw the Italian star escape the Filipina ace in three sets to move on to her third Grand Slam quarterfinals appearance.

READ MORE | Jasmine Paolini ends Alex Eala's Wimbledon dream run with fourth-round victory

Paolini admitted that the 21-year-old Filipina was a formidable opponent, especially given the confidence she gained from her historic Wimbledon run, which included a stunning Round of 32 upset of world No. 3 and defending champion Iga Swiatek.

The Italian star also believes Eala has all the tools to thrive on grass, saying the Filipina's game is perfectly suited to the surface.

"Yeah, it was a tough match. Alex, she's a really tough opponent, especially here on grass. I think her game is perfect here," Paolini said in the post-game interview.

"So it was a tough battle and I'm happy that I made it through. But yeah, I think it was a good match."

Indeed, Eala has found her footing on grass.

After a first-round exit at the French Open to cap her clay-court campaign, Eala opened the grass-court season with a statement. She had a dominant Birmingham Open run capped off with a 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 finals win over Nikola Bartunkova to seize her second career WTA title.

She then had another stellar journey at the Berlin Open, beating a pair of Top 10 players—Elena Rybakina and Elina Svitolina—before losing to Linda Noskova in the semifinals.

READ MORE | Alex Eala's 2026 grass-court swing: A recap ahead of Wimbledon

She drew from those experiences in her second appearance at Wimbledon, the most prestigious grass tournament of them all. And she did not disappoint, dominating Renata Zarazua, pulling off a redemption win over Maya Joint, and ousting Swiatek to book a Round of 16 spot.

Against Paolini, Eala also flexed her might but ultimately ran out of steam to end her campaign, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6.

"She has a lot of personality on court and I think I knew that. I tried to play my best tennis and it worked out. So yeah, I'm happy," Paolini added.

"Yeah, I think I played a really, really great match because it's tough to play Alex. She's there every point. I think my intensity was there every point, basically."

Paolini also emphasized how different her approach was this time around after suffering a 6-1, 7-6(5) defeat to Eala in their lone previous meeting at the Dubai Tennis Championships last February.

"I think in Dubai I didn't approach the match so well, it was tough. Today I had good energy. I think I was there at every point. I knew that it was a tough one. She's playing really well."

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News