Barbora Krejcikova Makes Huge Prediction on Alexandra Eala’s Career After Comeback win at Wimbledon

Defending champion Barbora Krejcikova had a tough three-set victory over Alexandra Eala in the opening round of Wimbledon.

Barbora Krejcikova Makes Huge Prediction on Alexandra Eala’s Career After Comeback win at Wimbledon

Alexandra Eala and Barbora Krejcikova (image via Toby Melville)

One of the most anticipated first-round matches at the Wimbledon Championships this year was that of defending champion Barbora Krejcikova and the young Filipina sensation Alexandra Eala. The 29-year-old missed the first five months of 2025 with a back injury and had to withdraw from last week’s Eastbourne Open quarterfinals, citing a thigh injury.

Eala, on the other hand, had a dream run at the Miami Open earlier this year as a qualifier, defeating three former Grand Slam champions in straight sets—Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, and Iga Swiatek. Last week she became the first Filipina to reach a WTA final, doing so at the Eastbourne Open, where she lost to Maya Joint after a tightly contested match, missing out on 4 championship points. While Eala could not overcome the defending champion on Tuesday, Krejcikova was full of praise for the 20-year-old:

She was smashing the ball. She was cleaning the lines. Wow. It’s the next generation coming up. She’s gonna be really good in a couple of years. Big, big credit to her.

At the start of the match, things didn’t look quite so rosy for Krejcikova. Playing only the second Grand Slam main draw of her young career, Eala built a 5-2 lead, winning four games in a row. She soon won the first set with a 6-3 score.

But the two-time Grand Slam champion fought back strong, taking a 5-0 lead in the second set. Eala was on the brink of being bagelled, but held serve, going on to win the next two games before Krejcikova took the set 6-2, eventually forcing a decider.

Down 1-0 in the decider and facing her second break point, Eala didn’t do enough with an approach shot and couldn’t handle the subsequent volley. Krejcikova was better at the net, winning eight of 13 points, while Eala was only 2-for-9. Krejcikova survived the challenge from the young player whom she met for the first time in court, sealing the victory with a scoreline of 3-6, 6-2, 6-1.

Eala, nonetheless, had the mentality of a strong fighter throughout the match and used a good variety of shots and angles, leaving fans excited to see when she comes back to produce her next sensational run after Miami and Eastbourne.

Barbora Krejcikova prevails after a tough three-set battle

After a hard-fought battle, Barbora Krejcikova avoided becoming the third Wimbledon women’s defending champion in the Open Era to lose the first-round match of their title defense.

In 1994, then three-time defending champion Steffi Graf lost in the first round at Wimbledon to Lori McNeil. It was one of the biggest upsets in tennis history, marking the first time in the Open Era that a defending Grand Slam champion lost in the first round of their title defense.

Barbora Krejcikova Wimbledon 2025
Barbora Krejcikova (image via Wimbledon)

The second such upset at Wimbledon took place last year, when Marketa Vondrousova, the defending champion, lost in the first round to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. This year, the 26-year-old has comfortably made it past the opening round, defeating McCartney Kessler in straight sets. Vondrousova will face Emma Raducanu in the second round.

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