Philippine tennis star Alex Eala, amid recent expert praise for her rapid rise, begins her seeded debut at the WTA 1000 Indian Wells Open against Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska in the round of 64 on Friday, March 6 (Saturday, March 7, Manila time). This is their second meeting after Eala's dominant 6-1, 6-2 quarterfinal win over Yastremska at the 2025 Eastbourne Open. Seeded 32nd after a career-high No. 31 last week, Eala earned a first-round bye.
The 20-year-old Eala enters Indian Wells on strong form, highlighted by her 2026 season-opening quarterfinal at the Dubai Tennis Championships where she upset world No. 7 Jasmine Paolini before falling to No. 3 Coco Gauff. Now ranked No. 32, she has drawn attention from legends like Martina Navratilova for her crafty lefty game.
Yastremska, 25 and ranked No. 52, has had a mixed start to the year with opening-round losses in Dubai and the WTA 500 Merida Open, but advanced here with a 6-3, 6-2 win over China's Zhang Shuai. At the 2025 Eastbourne Open, Eala swept her en route to the final.
Eala also competes in doubles with US No. 18 Iva Jovic against Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko and USA's Hailey Baptiste in the round of 32. The Sunshine Classic is underway in California.
