Daven Tamayo

Alex Eala finding her footing on clay as she aims to advance in Italian Open

Article (news)

John Franklin Kennedy Caacbay

ABS-CBN News

Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala aims to continue finding her footing on clay courts as she seeks to break through at the ongoing Italian Open.Eala scored a 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 win over Magdalena Fręch on Wednesday in Rome to avoid a first-round exit in the Rome-based tourney. She booked a Round-of-64 clash with Xinyu Wang of China, who earned a first-round bye.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/5/6/tennis-alex-eala-outlasts-fr-ch-through-to-round-2-of-italian-open-1924">READ: Tennis: Alex Eala outlasts Fręch, through to round 2 of Italian Open </a></div>She acknowledged that &quot;clay is not my strongest surface,&quot; but the 20-year-old netter is eager to dispel that with hard work, together with her team.&quot;Sometimes one match can change a lot for you especially when you&#x27;re changing seasons or for me, clay is not my strongest surface. So, every match is really a battle,&quot; said Eala in an interview with the Tennis Channel.&quot;Of course, I&#x27;m starting to build that relationship, especially at this level because I&#x27;ve competed in clay definitely many times growing up. But playing as a professional, obviously, is a different game. I think this is only this is my first season where I&#x27;ve really done kind of these high-level tournaments,&quot; added Eala.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/4/1/alex-eala-ramps-up-training-for-clay-court-swing-at-rafa-nadal-academy-0033">READ: Alex Eala ramps up training for clay court swing at Rafa Nadal Academy </a></div>&quot;I&#x27;m finding my footing and I know that I can do well. I&#x27;m a much better player — physically, mentally — than I was last year. So and we&#x27;ve really been working hard, my team and I.&quot;Eala hopes to improve her results after early exits at the Linz Open (second round), Stuttgart Open (first round), and Madrid Open (second round).

Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala aims to continue finding her footing in clay courts as she seeks to break through at the ongoing Italian Open.

Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala aims to continue finding her footing in clay courts as she seeks to break through at the ongoing Italian Open.