Alexandra Eala has moved into the quarter-finals of the Philippine Women’s Open after a straight-sets win over Himeno Sakatsume.
Eala made a strong start to the week with an opening-round victory over Alina Alexejewna Tscharajewa, playing in front of a supportive home crowd in Manila.
The Filipino rising star had also come through an early scare in her opening match, appearing to struggle physically before recovering to advance in three sets. She requested another medical timeout during the second round but pushed through to reach the last eight, where she’ll face either Yuliia Starodubtseva or Yafan Wang next.
Sakatsume hadn’t won back-to-back matches since March 2023 and was just 2-14 in main draws for that season coming into this one. Her opening-round opponent, Kyoka Okamura, had retired late in their match after suffering from cramping.
Alex Eala Speaks on Advancing at Philippine Open
Eala admitted afterwards that she was managing pain throughout the match but was relieved by how quickly things improved following her medical timeout.
“It wasn’t easy today,” she said. “Even though I won [6-4] first set, it didn’t feel like I was very comfortable out there.”
“At first, I didn’t want to use a painkiller because it usually makes me feel weird but I decided when my physical therapist came on court; he really helped me decide what I should do and they just wanted to be careful.
Who Alex Eala could face in the Philippine Women’s Open final
If Eala manages to reach her third WTA final, she could meet any one of four possible opponents.
One option is Donna Vekic, a former Wimbledon semi-finalist who Eala recently beat at the ASB Classic.
There’s also Lin Zhu, who upset Mirra Andreeva and Emma Raducanu at the 2025 Ningbo Open. Zhu once reached a career-high ranking of world number 31.
Then there are Tatiana Prozorova and Sofia Costoulas – ranked 174th and 143rd, respectively. Prozorova knocked out top seed Tatjana Maria in the round of 16.
A win in Manila would earn Eala 125 WTA points, which could move her up to number 41 in the world rankings – just behind American Ann Li.
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