Hugely popular tennis star heading to Birmingham this summer
Alexandra Eala’s matches draw massive crowds across the globe, despite her world ranking having peaked at 29
One of the world’s most popular tennis players will headline this year’s Lexus Birmingham Open at the Edgbaston Priory Club.
WTA star Alexandra Eala is set to compete in the first event of the 2026 grass court tennis season, having been confirmed on the entry list for the opening grass court event of the summer.
She is joined on the entry list by history-maker Tatjana Maria, who won the first ever women’s event at Queen’s last year.
Kirsty Thomson, tournament director of the Lexus Birmingham Open, said: “We’re really excited to be welcoming Alexandra back to the Edgbaston Priory Club in 2026.
“She has proved a fan favourite wherever she plays around the world, and we look forward to welcoming her, along with many of the world’s best players – including last year’s HSBC Championships winner Tatjana Maria - to the Edgbaston Priory Club in June.”
While only ranked just inside the world’s top 50, Filipino star Eala attracts huge crowds to her matches across the world thanks to passionate support from her home nation.
Her pre-tournament press conference ahead of the Australian Open attracted 171,000 viewers online alone - four-and-a-half times more than world No.1 and popular American Coco Gauff combined - while there have been huge queues of disappointed fans who have not been able to get on to court to watch her, wherever she goes.
Eala enjoyed a breakout 2025 season, starting with a run to the semi-finals of the Miami Open as a wildcard, propelling her into the world’s top 100.
She also enjoyed a successful grass court season, which began at last year’s Lexus Birmingham Open before going on to reach her first WTA Tour final at the Lexus Eastbourne Open, which included a win over former Grand Slam champion Jelena Ostapenko.
Alongside Eala, the fairytale winner of the 2025 HSBC Championships winner at Queen’s, Tatjana Maria, will take to the courts - alongside Indonesia’s Janice Tjen, who will be the top seed in Birmingham from June 1-7.
Belgium’s Greet Minnen is the defending women’s singles champion, after defeating Czechia’s Linda Fruhvirtova.
Centre Court tickets start from £40, with grounds admission tickets priced at £12 for adults and kids for free. All tickets can be purchased at tickets.lta.org.uk.
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