Eala advances to Eastbourne Open quarterfinals after opponent retires

Filipina tennis player Alex Eala advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2025 Eastbourne Open after her opponent Jelena Ostapenko retired due to an ankle injury in their Round of 16 match on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. Manila time.

Eala had won a convincing score of 6-0, 6-1 against Italy's Lucia Bronzetti earlier and was leading 3-2 in the final set when Ostapenko retired due to an ankle injury after winning the first set 6-0.

This victory marked a historic moment as it was the first time a Filipino player had beaten a top-30 ranked player, repeating her previous encounter at the Miami Open where she defeated Ostapenko 7-6, 7-5.

After battling back from a tough first set loss to Ostapenko, Eala expressed hope for her opponent's recovery and looked forward to her upcoming match against Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine on Thursday night.

Eala is now preparing for her main draw debut at Wimbledon next week following this significant win in Eastbourne.