Alex Eala’s 2026 Campaign: Season Review and Hong Kong Final Exit
Alex Eala’s 2026 campaign concluded at the Hong Kong Open.
In the Hong Kong Open final, Eala fell to Claire Liu with a scoreline of 6-3, 6-0, marking the close of a season in which she contested more matches than any other competitor on the WTA Tour.
Despite not concluding the year as she had hoped, Eala’s season remained highly successful, highlighted by her first WTA title victory in Washington D.C., a fourth-round appearance at Wimbledon, and a year-end ranking of world number 15.
Eala finished her season with 49 victories, though she suffered 27 losses against 22 distinct opponents.
Alex Eala has been defeated by 22 distinct players in 2026
This year, Eala competed in 29 singles tournaments, such as the Asian Games, securing titles at the Washington Open and the lower-tier WTA 125 grass-court event in Birmingham.
Xinyu Wang was the first to defeat Eala this season, winning in the ASB Classic semi-finals in Auckland, followed by Liu, who claimed victory in the Hong Kong final.
Eala lost to four opponents on multiple occasions this year, with no player defeating her more times in 2026 than her close friend Iva Jovic. Jovic triumphed over Eala three times this season, including at both Roland Garros and the US Open. The other three players to record multiple wins against Eala this season are Linda Noskova, Elise Mertens, and Diana Shnaider.
Including Liu, Eala lost to three players ranked outside the top 100 this year, with her most significant ranking loss occurring at the Wuhan Open, where she was defeated by Han Shi, who was ranked world number 217 at the time.
Eala’s two most lopsided losses came against Coco Gauff in Dubai and Karolina Muchova in Miami, in both of which she managed only two games.
| Tournaments Alex Eala has played in 2026 | Player who beat Alex Eala | Ranking of player who beat Alex Eala |
| ASB Classic (Auckland) | Xinyu Wang (Semi-final) | No.57 |
| Australian Open | Alycia Parks (First Round) | No.99 |
| Philippine Women’s Open | Camila Osorio (Quarter-final) | No.84 |
| Abu Dhabi Open | Ekaterina Alexandrova (Quarter-final) | No.11 |
| Qatar Open | Tereza Valentova (First Round) | No.48 |
| Dubai Tennis Championships | Coco Gauff (Quarter-final) | No.4 |
| Indian Wells | Linda Noskova (Fourth Round) | No.14 |
| Miami Open | Karolina Muchova (Fourth Round) | No.14 |
| Linz Open | Jelena Ostapenko (Second Round) | No.23 |
| Stuttgart Open | Leylah Fernandez (First Round) | No.25 |
| Madrid Open | Elise Mertens (Second Round) | No.21 |
| Italian Open | Elena Rybakina (Third Round) | No.2 |
| Strasbourg Open | Oleksandra Oliynykova (First Round) | No.66 |
| Roland Garros | Iva Jovic (First Round) | No.17 |
| Birmingham Classic | No-one (Eala won the title) | – |
| Queen’s Club Championships | Iva Jovic (Second Round) | No.19 |
| Berlin Tennis Open | Linda Noskova (Semi-final) | No.13 |
| Bad Homburg Open | Elise Mertens (First Round) | No.26 |
| Wimbledon | Jasmine Paolini (Fourth Round) | No.17 |
| Washington Open | No-one (Eala won the title) | – |
| Canadian Open | Belinda Bencic (Fourth Round) | No.14 |
| Cincinnati Open | Amanda Anisimova (Third Round) | No.10 |
| US Open | Iva Jovic (Third Round) | No.14 |
| Singapore Tennis Open | Tatiana Prozorova (Second Round) | No.180 |
| Asian Games | Xiyu Wang (Semi-final) | No.85 |
| Wuhan Open | Han Shi (First Round) | No.217 |
| Ningbo Open | Diana Shnaider (Second Round) | No.13 |
| Tokyo Open | Diana Shnaider (Quarter-final) | No.13 |
| Hong Kong Open | Claire Liu (Final) | No.102 |
Which player has Alex Eala beaten the most in 2026?
Although Eala lost to 22 different players this year, the majority of her matches ended in her favor. This record includes seven victories against top 10 players, such as Elena Rybakina, Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and Iga Swiatek.
Eala also defeated one top 10 player twice this year, beating Elina Svitolina at both the Berlin Open and the Washington Open. Svitolina was one of four players Eala defeated twice this year, which represents the highest number of times she has beaten any single opponent in 2026.
Other players Eala has defeated multiple times this year include two former Grand Slam semi-finalists, Donna Vekic and Magda Linette, as well as the Armenian player Alina Charaeva.
Eala’s final victory of the 2026 season came against former world number three Maria Sakkari, a win that propelled her into the Hong Kong Open final. Although the 2026 season concluded with a loss for Eala, she has much to be proud of and now has the chance to continue striving for greater heights in 2027, backed by her extensive fanbase.
