Eala breezes to Ilkley Open quarterfinals

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala made short work of Swiss foe Valentina Ryser, 6-1, 6-2, to barge into the quarterfinals of the 2025 Lexus Ilkley Open yesterday in England.

Eala, the No. 1 seed in the tournament and WTA No. 77, was unstoppable with near shutouts in both sets as she notched her second straight sweep after a tougher 7-6(4), 6-3 romp over Filipina-Australian Lizette Cabrera the other day in the first round.

The 20-year-old Filipina needed only 68 minutes to take care of the lower-ranked Swiss, who’s WTA No. 230, and set up a huge duel against either Emily Appleton of Great Britain or No. 8 seed Rebecca Marino of Canada for a seat in the Final Four.

It’s the first deep run for Eala in a long while after absorbing first-round exits in the last three tournaments in the clay courts of Italian Open and French Open as well as the grass court of Birmingham Open last month.

Her lone second-round stint was in the French Open doubles with Mexican partner Renata Zarazua with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Appleton and Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers of Spain in Round 1.