Eala Fights Back to Edge Charaeva, Advance to Birmingham Open Quarterfinals

Alex Eala extended her impressive grass-court form with a hard-fought 6-2, 7-5 victory over Russia’s Alina Charaeva in the second round of the 2026 Lexus Birmingham Open at the Edgbaston Priory Club on Thursday.

The win marked Eala’s second straight-sets triumph of the tournament and improved her head-to-head record against Charaeva to 2-1. The match, lasting just under an hour, highlighted the world No. 37’s combination of control and resilience.

As the tournament’s top seed, Eala quickly established dominance on Centre Court, storming to a 4-0 lead in the opening set. Charaeva, coming off a statement first-round victory over last year’s runner-up Greet Minnen of Belgium, managed to stabilize briefly, winning two of the next three games. Still, Eala closed out the set in 36 minutes with calm precision.

The second set proved more challenging. After a tightly contested start, Charaeva broke Eala in the sixth game to lead 5-2, threatening to push the match to a decider. Yet, Eala displayed remarkable poise, rattling off five consecutive games to turn the set around and seal the match in dramatic fashion.

The two players had met twice before on the professional circuit. Charaeva claimed their first encounter in 2020 at an ITF event in Spain, but Eala exacted revenge earlier this year at the WTA 125 Philippine Open, winning decisively in straight sets while dropping just three games.

With this victory, Eala advances to the quarterfinals, where she will face Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew in a rematch of their SEA Games final last December, adding another layer of familiarity and anticipation to her Birmingham campaign.