Alex Eala upsets World No. 2 Rybakina in Berlin

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Alex Eala upsets World No. 2 Rybakina in Berlin image

By Joel Reyes

Alex Eala recorded arguably the biggest win of her professional career on Friday (PH time), beating World No. 2 Elena Rybakina 7-5, 6-4 in the second round of the 2026 Berlin Tennis Open.

Eala sent fans at Steffi Graf Stadion into a frenzy when she completed the upset victory in one hour and 32 minutes.

It was Rybakina, though, who got off to a strong start, building a 4-1 lead in the opening set. Eala responded immediately, though, winning six of the next seven games to take the first set in 48 minutes.

Eala sustained the momentum in Set 2, racing to a 3-1 lead. She had an opportunity to make it a 4-1 advantage, grabbing three break point opportunities at 0-40 in the fifth game.

Rybakina dug deep with her serve, though, saving all of those break points to cut the deficit to 2-3. Eala kept the Kazakh at bay with a solid service hold in the sixth game to go up 4-2.

Eala surged 5-3 ahead and had a match point in the ninth game. Rybakina managed to save that, though, as she forced Eala to serve for the match.

Eala held her composure, though, to advance to her first-ever WTA 500 quarterfinal on grass. She will next face No. 6 seed Elina Svitolina in the last eight.

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