Defending ladies' champion and world no. 16 Barbara Krejcíková is Alex Eala’s first assignment at Wimbledon.
Alex Eala has faced many top names in her career so far — like those of former world no. 1 Iga Swiatek, Madison Keys, and Jelena Ostapenko. Her latest assignment is no different.
In her upcoming debut in the main draw of Wimbledon on Tuesday (PH time), Eala faces off against Czechia’s Barbora Krejcíková, who is currently the defending ladies' champion of the tournament.
Krejcíková, 29, is a two-time Grand Slam winner, having won also in the French Open back in 2021.
[READ: Alex Eala succumbs to Maya Joint in her first-ever WTA final in Eastbourne Open]
She was formerly ranked world no. 2 in the WTA rankings back in February 2022, and has qualified until at least the quarterfinals of each of the four Grand Slams tournaments throughout her career.
Currently, she is ranked no. 16 in the world.
The Czech standout is more decorated in women’s doubles — having a career slam, all with doubles partner Katerina Siniaková. She most recently won the Australian Open women’s doubles tournament in 2023, which was her second in the tournament.
In mixed doubles, she is a three-time Australian Open champion.
She also has six other WTA tour titles in singles, apart from her two Grand Slam wins.
Additionally, Krejcíková is an Olympic gold medalist in women’s doubles, winning with Siniaková back in 2021 in Tokyo.
Recently, Krejcíková has been nursing an injury that has sidelined her from November 2024 to May of this year. She also recently pulled out of the Eastbourne Open.
Despite her nagging health issues, Krejcíková’s experience and accolades hardly make her an easy target for Eala, who is coming off of a runner-up finish also in Eastbourne, where she reached her first-ever WTA final.
With youth going up against experience, Krejcíková and Eala will surely bring fireworks on Centre Court.