Donna Vekic of Croatia is the first challenge for Alex Eala at the ASB Classic in Auckland to start a brand new 2026 WTA season.
Alex Eala is no stranger to big-name opponents and Croatia’s Donna Vekic certainly fit that bill for an intriguing first matchup at the ASB Classic in Auckland.
Still, Eala is favored on paper as the Filipina tennis ace has the higher rank to open her 2026 WTA season against Vekic, currently no. 69 in the world. Eala, who peaked at no. 50 in 2025, enters the new year as WTA no. 53.
[RELATED: Alex Eala starts 2026 season vs Croatian Donna Vekic at ASB Classic in Auckland]
A lower ranking aside, the 29-year-old Vekic has all the experience of going up against high-level competition in the WTA Tour.
Vekic has enjoyed her fair share of success, churning out a total of four singles titles at the WTA level.
She has also performed well at Grand Slams, reaching at least the Round of 16 in all of them with her best finish being a semifinal appearance at Wimbledon in 2024.
During that particular matchup, Vekic engaged in the longest-ever Wimbledon women’s singles semifinal against Jasmine Paolini, which she eventually lost, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6.
2024 was a milestone year for Vekic, who also won the silver medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics. In her run to the Finals, she beat no. 2 seed Coco Gauff but lost to Zheng Qinwen for the gold medal.
Last year, she made the fourth round of the Australian Open before losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Vekic has a career-high ranking of world no. 17, which she achieved in January 2025.
Eala and Vekic will face off at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday (PH time), for their first-ever showdown.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.