Jaehwa Bernardo

(Right) Alex Eala and Iva Jovic beat Venus Williams and Elina Svitolina at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. Photo from Bench Eje via Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Alex Eala, Iva Jovic score big doubles win vs legends in ASB Classic

Dyan Castillejo

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px;display:block"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1767597717563EALA.jfif" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">(Right) Alex Eala and Iva Jovic beat Venus Williams and Elina Svitolina at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. <em>Photo from Bench Eje via Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>Alex Eala opened her 2026 season in emphatic fashion, delivering a statement win on Monday at the ASB Classic in Auckland alongside American teenager Iva Jovic.</p><p>In their first match of the year, the youthful pairing stunned tennis fans by defeating former world No. 1 Venus Williams and former world No. 3 Elina Svitolina, 7-6, 6-1, in a high-quality doubles encounter.</p><p>The opening set was a tense, nip-and-tuck battle that stretched deep into a tiebreak, highlighted by a long, intense final rally that Eala and Jovic converted to seal the set.</p><p>Carrying that momentum into the second, the younger duo ultimately dominated the second set.</p><p>Eala’s partner, Jovic, continues to establish herself as one of the WTA Tour’s brightest young talents. </p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2008047257363554598&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2026-01-05T07%3A16%3A20.262279%3A6adbf87b-aa58-4fcc-98b2-8cde6d603c6e%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=4f2a0fe21afc0e8ccfe203cdb620d65008ba64b5&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:625px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="2008047257363554598"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>Still just a teenager, Jovic has already cracked the WTA Top 40 in singles, won a WTA Tour title, and boasts junior Grand Slam doubles titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, signaling her versatility across formats. </p><p>On the other side of the net, Williams, now 45, remains a towering figure in tennis history with seven Grand Slam singles titles and 14 Grand Slam doubles championships, while Svitolina remains a consistent Top-20 presence on tour.</p><p>For Eala, the victory marks a huge confidence boost to start the year, as she continues to gain valuable experience against elite opposition on the WTA circuit.</p><p>She now shifts her focus back to singles, with her next match scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, January 6, where she is set to face Donna Vekic in Auckland.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C4SG9USU5aI?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><strong></strong><br/></div>

<p>Alex Eala opened her 2026 season in emphatic fashion, delivering a statement win at the ASB Classic in Auckland alongside American teenager Iva Jovic.</p>

Alex Eala opened her 2026 season in emphatic fashion, delivering a statement win at the ASB Classic in Auckland alongside American teenager Iva Jovic.