Alex Eala seeks payback from Elena-Gabriela Ruse at the 2026 Cincinnati Open
Pinay tennis ace Alex Eala is set to face an old foe in her debut at the 2026 Cincinnati Open.
Eala, the No. 17 seed and world No. 20, earned a first-round bye and will face Romania's Elena Gabriela Ruse in the Round of 64 after the latter defeated Poland's Magda Linette, 6-0, 6-3. Their match is happening on Saturday, Aug. 15, at 11 p.m. (Philippine time).
The two players, who have each won a singles title, will have their first match in two years after they faced off in the third qualifying round of the 2024 US Open, where Ruse rallied past Eala, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, to deny the Filipina a spot in the Grand Slam's main draw.
On hard courts, Eala holds a slight edge with a 50-49 career record, while Ruse stands at 67-75.
The match is one of Eala’s preparations for the US Open later this month. Coming off her historic Mubadala DC Open win, Eala said playing more matches can help build her confidence.
“Momentum is a thing, I guess, but it's not concrete and it doesn't give you any hundred percent answers, right? So momentum can help. A lot of matches can help with your confidence, but it doesn't guarantee anything,” she said during her press conference on Aug. 14.
Asked what would make her Cincinnati week a success, she said, “I think it's just the level that I play. And of course, the more matches, the merrier, right? But it's the matches of substance and it's the ones that—did I execute what I want to execute? Did I bring the level that I wanted to bring? So if I lose first round, but it's a really good match, not to say that it's a successful week, but it wasn't a bad one. And if I reached the final, then I'll take that too."
World No. 75 Ruse won her lone WTA singles title at Hamburg in 2021 and has since reached three other finals. She has also pulled off notable upsets, including a 6-4, 7-5 win over then-world No. 8 Barbora Krejcikova in the second round of the 2024 US Open.
Should Eala get past Ruse, a potential third-round clash awaits against either Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez or American world No. 10 Amanda Anisimova.
Head-to-head record: Eala 0-1 Ruse
- 2024 US Open qualifying third round, outdoor hard court: Ruse rallied past Eala, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.
y
