She has beaten Alex Eala more times than any other player on the WTA Tour this year

At Wimbledon, Eala dethroned defending champion Iga Swiatek, beating the Pole 7-6, 6-2 to reach the fourth round of a major for the first time.

She put together the best run of her career thus far at the Washington Open, overcoming Elina Svitolina, Naomi Osaka and Jessica Pegula en route to winning her first tour-level title.

But there is one player Eala just has not been able to find an answer for: Iva Jovic.

Iva Jovic’s wins over Alex Eala so far in the 2026 WTA season

Jovic and Eala have met each other three times in 2026, with their first career clash coming at the French Open.

There, Jovic defeated Eala fairly comfortably, emerging victorious in straight sets before reaching the first Grand Slam quarterfinal of her career.

Any claims that the loss for Eala could be explained by clay being her weaker surface were put to bed when the two met on grass at Queen’s.

In the round of 16 at the Queen’s Club Championships, Jovic handed Eala an even heavier defeat, beating her 6-2, 6-2.

Alexandra Eala will win __ WTA titles during her career

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Their third and most recent matchup was the best of the bunch, though, and certainly the most competitive.

Doing battle on hard court for the first time, Eala and Jovic fought for three hours inside a buzzing Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Jovic won her fifth consecutive set against Eala by winning the opener 7-5, and looked to be closing in on another straight-sets triumph.

With both players struggling on serve, Eala was better in the baseline exchanges in set two, which she clinched 6-3.

It was not to be for Eala in the end, though, with Jovic taking the decider to reach the fourth round.

Where Alex Eala and Iva Jovic are in the race to the WTA Finals

Both Eala and Jovic are in with a shout of qualifying for the WTA Finals for the first time in their careers this year.

Eight players make the cut for the WTA Finals, and the eighth spot is held, as of now, by Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova, with 4,234 live points to her name.

Jovic moved up three places recently and is now 14th in the race with 2,232 points, while Eala is just behind on 2,181.

There are still two WTA 1000 tournaments left in the 2026 season where Eala and Jovic can pick up big tallies of points: the China Open and the Wuhan Open.

Currently, only US Open champion Rybakina is qualified for the prestigious year-end competition.

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