Eala faces Joint rematch, opens doubles campaign at Wimbledon

Alex Eala returns to action on Thursday with a packed schedule at Wimbledon, as the Filipina star looks to continue her singles run before opening her women's doubles campaign at the All England Club.

Fresh off her breakthrough first-round victory in the singles main draw, the 21-year-old will take on Australia's Maya Joint in the second round before teaming up with Czech partner Nikola Bartůňková later in the day for their doubles opener.

Eala and Joint meet again after their thrilling championship match at the WTA Eastbourne Open in June 2025, where the Australian rallied from the brink of defeat to claim a dramatic 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(10) victory after saving four match points.

Joint, 20, established herself as one of the WTA Tour's rising stars by capturing two WTA 250 titles in 2025, including the Morocco Open and Eastbourne, climbing to a career-high world No. 26 behind her aggressive baseline game.

The Australian, however, has struggled to regain her form after recovering from a back injury. She enters the second-round showdown ranked No. 87 after winning just three of her first 18 WTA Tour main-draw matches this season.

One of those victories came in the opening round at Wimbledon, where she upset a higher-ranked opponent to arrange another meeting with Eala.

The Filipina heads into the match riding the momentum of her first Wimbledon main-draw singles victory and a successful grass-court campaign that included a WTA 125 title in Birmingham.

Later on Thursday, Eala will turn her attention to the women's doubles draw, where she and Bartůňková face a stern opening-round challenge against Latvia's Jeļena Ostapenko and American Sofia Kenin.

Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open singles champion and reigning US Open doubles champion, is currently ranked No. 10 in the WTA doubles standings. Kenin, meanwhile, won the 2020 Australian Open singles title and is ranked No. 27 in doubles.

With matches in both singles and doubles, Eala has another opportunity to build on her impressive Wimbledon start while seeking redemption against a familiar opponent.