Alex Eala, the WTA 125 Birmingham Open top seed, is set to face Alina Charaeva in the Round of 16 Thursday night after opening the grass-season tournament with a dominant 6-0, 6-2 win over Priscilla Hon.
A grass-court day that started with momentum now points to a bigger test. Alex Eala, the WTA 125 Birmingham Open top seed, crosses paths with Alina Charaeva in the Round of 16 on Thursday, with the match scheduled for 8:30pm on Center Court.
Eala arrives in Birmingham after a statement in her first singles match of the grass season. On Tuesday, she opened her campaign by cruising past Priscilla Hon, 6-0, 6-2. The win came after a tough turnaround: the day before, Eala had lost her doubles match.
Against Hon, the top seed struck fast. Eala raced to a 6-0 first set in just 22 minutes. In the second set, Hon—ranked No. 143 in the WTA—found more resistance, winning back-to-back games after Eala built a commanding 5-0 lead.
Then the match tightened in the way grass often does: breaks and holds came at key moments. Hon broke Eala for the first time in the match and held serve to trim the deficit to 5-2. But Eala answered with a love hold. pushing the scoreline back in her favor and closing out the match in less than an hour.
For Eala, the result was personal as much as it was practical. She described the win as her first match on grass and credited the performance.
“It was a good performance, especially it was my first match on grass, so I’m really happy… This is a good win for me,” she said.
Her path to the Round of 16 also came through the Round of 32, where she earned the wire-to-wire victory over Hon—an early sign that the top seed’s rhythm carried over even after the doubles disappointment.
Now, with Charaeva waiting in the Round of 16, the question shifts from whether Eala can impose control to whether she can keep it as the field gets sharper—starting Thursday night on Center Court.
Alex Eala Alina Charaeva Birmingham Open WTA 125 Round of 16 Priscilla Hon grass season top seed
6-0 6-2 is kinda ridiculous, she’s on fire or grass is just messing everyone up.
I thought Birmingham Open was men’s? Also 8:30pm Center Court sounds fake like they made it up for clicks. Hope Eala beats her though.
So she lost doubles the day before and then won singles 6-0, 6-2… seems like doubles doesn’t matter at all? Like maybe Charaeva will win because singles is “harder” or whatever.
Priscilla Hon being 143 and still making it interesting?? Grass is weird. Also Eala got 5-0 then suddenly it got tight, so I’m not convinced she’ll “keep control” like the article says. Charaeva sounds like the plot twist person lol. I’ll watch but I’m expecting drama.