Is Alex Eala a favorite to win in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics?
With her 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, conquest against reigning Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the first round of the WTA 500 Mubadala D.C. Open early Wednesday (Manila time), Eala has now defeated all podium finishers at the 2024 Paris Olympics women's single tennis.
Eala first defeated the bronze medalist, Iga Swiatek, at the 2025 WTA 1000 Miami Open quarterfinals, 6-2, 7-5.
Swiatek was then No. 2 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings while Eala was No. 140.
The 21-year-old Eala topped the 25-year-old Swiatek anew in the third round at Wimbledon, 7-6(9), 6-2.
The lefty Eala next defeated silver medalist Donna Vekic twice.
Eala first topped the 30-year-old Croatian at the ASB Classic first round last January (4–6, 6–4, 6–4) and then at the Berlin Open last June (7-5, 6-4).
Conversely, Swiatek and Zheng also defeated Eala.
After Miami, Swiatek got back at Eala at the 2025 Madrid Open round of 64, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
The 23-year-old Zheng, meanwhile, outlasted Eala in their first encounter at the 2023 Asian Games semifinal, 6–1, 6(5)–7, 6–3, eventually winning the tournament and the Olympic gold the following year when she defeated Vekic in the Paris final.
Vekic, however, has not defeated Eala yet even in an exhibition match at the Kooyong Classic last January when the Filipina prevailed, 6-3, 6-4.
To get an outright qualification for the 2028 Olympics, Eala needs to be in the top 56 in the WTA rankings.
