Eala shocks World No. 2 Rybakina, soars into Berlin Open Quarterfinals

The Filipina tennis sensation pulled off a major upset after stunning World No. 2 Elena Rybakina, 7-5, 6-4, achieving the biggest triumph of her season thus far to advance to the round of 16 in the WTA 500 Berlin Open on Friday at Steffi Graf Stadion.

This victory marked Eala’s fifth career win over a top 10-ranked opponent, mirroring her famous upset victory over Iga Świątek during the quarterfinals of the 2025 Miami Open. 

The result also served as a strong response to her earlier loss against Rybakina in the round of 32 at this year’s Italian Open.

The first set began evenly, with both players comfortably holding serve through the first three games. Rybakina then took control, breaking Eala’s serve in the fourth game and following it up with a solid service game to build a strong 4-1 lead.

However, Eala showed great determination and refused to let the set slip away, seizing on two double faults from Rybakina to secure her first break of the contest in the seventh game. She immediately backed this up with a dominant service game, including two aces, to tie the score at 4-4.

Both players held their serves over the next two games, bringing the score to 5-5. 

At this critical moment, the 21-year-old Eala stepped up, earning another vital break in the 11th game, then battling hard in her final service game to close out the set after nearly an hour of intense competition.

Rybakina, a two-time Grand Slam champion from Kazakhstan, held serve to start the second set, but Eala quickly seized momentum, capturing the next three games and holding her own serve to secure a key break in the third game to jump ahead 3-1, putting her opponent on the back foot.

Though the world number 2 held her serve to narrow the deficit to 5-4, Eala confidently closed out the match on her own serve, clinching a massive straight-sets win by a score of 7-5, 6-4, matching Rybakina hold for hold to secure a remarkable upset.

Right after securing the greatest victory of her career, Eala was still trembling as she got on the phone with her dad, Mike.

“I called my dad,” Eala said in her post-match interview. “I said, ‘Oh my God.’ We were just screaming, and my mom was there and all. I’m just really happy.” 

The key difference was Eala’s performance on return; she consistently applied pressure on Rybakina’s second serve. She earned 19 points from those shots—more than twice the 9 points Rybakina managed to claim in the same category.

Eala now turns her attention to the quarterfinals, where she will face world number 6 Elina Svitolina as she aims to extend her excellent run in Berlin.