Alex Eala will face local hero Julia Grabher in the first round of the Linz Open in Austria with the pair separated by 43 places in the rankings.
It will be the Filipina No 1 against the Austria No 1 for a place in the second round of the WTA 1000 open in what will be a first-career meeting between the pair.
World No 46 Eala and Grabher have ended up in the top half of the draw and they find themselves in the same section as fourth seed Jelena Ostapenko with the winner going on to meet the 2017 French Open winner.
Eala, of course, has grabbed a lot of headlines the past year as she became the first Filipina to not only reach the top 100 of the WTA Rankings, but later the top 50 and the top 40. However, she has dropped back to No 46 after she lost in the last 16 at the Miami Open.
But let’s find out more about her first-round opponent at the Linz Open.
Who is Julia Grabner?
The 29-year-old Grabner hails from Dornbirn, Austria, and she only made her WTA Tour-level debut at the age of 23 in 2019 when she received a wildcard into the Linz event.
She has been a formidable player at ITF level as she has won 16 titles from August 2015 until April 2025 while she also had success on the WTA Challenger Tour, winning the Bari Open in 2022 and the Florianópolis Open in 2025.
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Grabner reached her maiden WTA Tour final in May 2023, but finished runner-up against Lucia Bronzetti and she went on to peak at No 53 in the WTA Rankings in June that year.
The 2023 season also delivered her first Grand Slam singles match win as that came at the French Open as she beat Aranxta Rus before losing in the second round.
The Austrian started the year at No 92, but she broke back into the top 80 with a win at the Australian Open, but currently sits at No 87.
Recent Form
The 29-year-old has played on the WTA Challenger Tour recently with her last match at the Megasaray Hotels Open in March, where she lost in the second round. She is 3-8 so far in 2026.
When Will The Match Take Place
The first-round clash has been scheduled for Tuesday, 7 April, but the order of play will only be released by organisers on Monday afternoon.
However, given Eala’s massive fan base and the fact that Grabner is a local, the match will likely be a feature match on Centre Court.
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