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Thu 30 April 2026

Eala barges in to Roehampton W25 final

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Filipina teenage prodigy Alex Eala stunned veteran journeywoman Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands, 7-6 (7-4). 2-6, 6-1, to enter the final of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) W25 Roehampton championship Saturday in London.

Eala bounced back from the rain-delayed match, dropping the second set but coming back strong in the third set to repulse the erratic Dutch.

But the crucial points came in the first set as Eala notched four straight games to overcome a 1-4 deficit.

Tied at four points each in the tie-breaker, Eala notched a winner on Hartono’s baseline, before the world number 214 succumbed to erratic returns.

Eala, ranked much lower at 250, will face Russian-born Australian Arina Rodionova in tomorrow’s finale in an attempt to win her second ITF crown of the year and fourth overall.

The 33-year-old Rodionova, ranked 166th in the world, repulsed hometown lass Yuriko Miyazaki in three sets in the other semifinal match.

Rodionova last week won a W60 event in Barcelona as the former doubles specialist is gunning for her 14th ITF tour title.

The champion takes home $25,000 (P1.4 million) and 50 ranking points.

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