Alexandra Eala enjoyed a favorable start to her Madrid Open campaign on Wednesday as she claimed a 6-3, 6-3 win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Afterward, the 20-year-old celebrated with her parents, who were in the crowd to cheer her on at the tournament.
The dominant performance saw Eala breaking her opponent’s serve four times en route to the win. She consistently landed her serve and won 75.6% of points on first serve during the contest.
Alexandra Eala Celebrates With Parents After Winning Opener in Madrid
Eala is hoping to find her form in Spain after a disappointing start to her clay-court swing. After a straight-sets win against her Russian opponent, she is set for a second-round clash against 19th seed Elise Mertens.
After the win, Eala went toward her box to celebrate with her family. Her parents often attend her matches to support her from the sidelines. A video of the Filipina celebrating her win with her parents was shared by the WTA Tour on Instagram.
“Celebrating with her family. Alexandra Eala reaches the second round for the third straight year in Madrid,” they captioned the post.
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The 2026 edition marks Eala’s fifth overall appearance and fourth main-draw appearance at the tournament.
“I feel really great. I love Madrid. It’s an amazing tournament. Every time I come here, I feel really comfortable. I feel at home. I’ve been in Spain for so many years, and every match at this level is a fight and a battle,” Eala said during her on-court post-match interview.
Eala trained at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Spain before turning pro and will be eager to make a strong impact on her return to the country. She also spent some time training in Mallorca before the start of the clay-court swing.
MORE: ‘Humble’ Alexandra Eala Impresses Rafael Nadal’s Sister As Iga Świątek Secures Return Invite
The next few weeks will be key for Eala as she looks to build momentum ahead of her second French Open main-draw appearance. The youngster hasn’t enjoyed the best of starts to her clay-court swing, losing in the second round in Linz and falling at the first hurdle against Leylah Fernandez at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
Following her first-round win in Madrid, Eala’s win-loss record in 2026 stands at 16-10. She has made three quarterfinals and one semifinal this year. She has never made it past the second round at the Madrid Open and will look to change that this year.
