Alex Eala wins 2026 clay debut, beats Grabher at Linz Open

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Alex Eala wins 2026 clay debut, beats Grabher at Linz Open image

By Joel Reyes

Alex Eala’s 2026 clay season is off to a spectacular start, with the Filipina tennis star recording a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Julia Grabher in their first-round clash at the Linz Open on Wednesday morning (PH time).

Eala needed one hour and 43 minutes to secure the straight-sets win over Grabher on Center Court as she arranged a mouth-watering second-round clash against Jelena Ostapenko in the indoor clay-court event.

Photo by BARBARA GINDL / APA / AFP via Getty Images

Eala had to dig deep in the opening set against the hometown favorite, saving five break points against the Austrian No. 1. It was the Quezon City native, however, who grabbed the first break of the match, claiming it during the 10th game to take the first set in 58 minutes.

Eala sustained the momentum in the second set, racing to a 4-1 lead after breaking Grabher’s serve in the fourth game. There’s no quit with Grabher, though, as she finally grabbed her first break in the seventh game to get the second set back on serve.

Photo by BARBARA GINDL / APA / AFP via Getty Images

Eala immediately thwarted Grabher’s comeback attempt, breaking back in the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead. The Rafa Nadal Academy graduate never looked back after that as she advanced to the second round of the WTA 500 tournament in Austria.

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