Eala reaches new clay milestone in Rome; to face Rybakina in third round

Alexandra Eala, the first player from the Philippines to appear in the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in the Open Era, overcame a slow start against No. 31 seed Wang Xinyu of China to advance to the third round in Rome on Friday, setting up a first meeting with Elena Rybakina, who defeated Maria Sakkari in straight sets later in the day.

Wang takes early lead before Eala finds her rhythm

Wang, who won the pair’s only previous meeting in the semifinals in Auckland earlier this year, broke Eala’s serve twice to take a 3-0 lead in the opening set. But Eala soon settled into the match and began dictating play, winning six of the next seven games to claim the set 6-4.

The second set began with both players exchanging breaks before Wang saved two break points to hold for a 3-2 lead. From there, Eala won four consecutive games to complete a 6-4, 6-3 victory in 1 hour, 26 minutes. The win leveled their head-to-head record on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz at 1-1.

First WTA 1000 third-round appearance on clay

Eala, who reached the semifinals in Miami last year and the quarterfinals in Dubai earlier this season, advanced to the third round of a WTA 1000 clay-court event for the first time in her career. Her previous best result in Rome or Madrid was a second-round appearance.

The victory marked Eala’s 16th WTA Tour match win of the 2026 season across 10 tournaments. She also owns the most wins by a left-handed player this year.

Rybakina awaits in third round

Next up for the 20-year-old will be Rybakina, in what will be their first meeting at the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz level. The World No. 2 defeated Sakkari 6-4, 6-1 in 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach the third round.

It's Rybakina's six win over the former World No. 3 in seven meetings and her fifth straight in the head-to-head. She is now 24-2 in completed WTA 1000 matches after winning the first set, with her only losses coming to the eventual champion -- Victoria Mboko (Montreal 2025) and Aryna Sabalenka (Indian Wells 2026). She has also won 12 straight opening matches at WTA 1000 events.

On Friday, the opening set stayed tight through six games before Rybakina broke for 4-3. That was all the space she needed to take the first set, which she sealed with a hold to love.

The second set was all Rybakina. She feasted on Sakkari's serve, particularly her first serve. Sakkari won just 4 of 18 first-serve points in the set, good for 22%. That dominance on return gave Rybakina nine break points, of which she converted four to cruise to the finish.

The win gives Rybakina a chance to reach the Round of 16 in Rome for just the second time. The former champion is just 1-3 in third-round matches at the Internazionali d'Italia.

Meanwhile, history is on the line again for Eala. With a win, she would become the second woman representing an Asian country to claim a Top 5 victory at the event, joining Rybakina. She could also become the first Filipino player, man or woman, in the Open Era to reach the Round of 16 in Rome.