Alex Eala beats Elena Rybakina 7-5, 6-4 in Berlin Open round of 16

Alex Eala defeated world No. 2 Elena Rybakina 7-5, 6-4 in the round of 16 at the Berlin Open early Friday morning Philippine time at Steffi Graf Stadion. The 21-year-old Filipina trailed 4-1 in the first set after Rybakina broke her serve in the fourth game.

Eala broke back in the seventh game, held with two aces to reach 4-4, then broke again in the 11th game to win the set after nearly an hour. In the second set, Eala broke Rybakina's serve in the third game to lead 3-1 and held the advantage through the remainder of the match. She won 19 points off Rybakina's second serve compared with Rybakina's nine.

The victory marked Eala's fifth against a top-10 player and her second over a tournament's second seed. It reversed her earlier loss to Rybakina in the round of 32 of the Italian Open. Eala previously defeated Iga Świątek in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Miami Open.

Rybakina is a two-time Grand Slam champion. Eala will face world No. 6 Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals.