Alexandra Eala is set to play Leylah Fernandez for the first time in her career at the Women’s Stuttgart Open.
Eala has been handed a difficult draw in Stuttgart and she can count herself unlucky to draw Fernandez so early.
Fernandez is currently ranked 20 places above Eala ahead of the Women’s Stuttgart Open, despite her slow start to the 2026 season.
Eala and Fernandez’s playing styles have often been compared and the Filipina responded to those comparisons last year.
Alexandra Eala’s response to being compared to Leylah Fernandez in 2025
Eala and Fernandez are both left-handed players and they have both made a name for themselves by taking the ball early.
As a result, many fans and pundits have compared the two players and that was made clear to Eala last year.
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Speaking to Talking Tennis last year, Eala responded to claims she had a similar game style to the Canadian.
“I’m not really familiar with those comparisons, but I think Leylah is a great player obviously,” explained the Filipina.
“She made the final in the US Open a couple of years back, so she’s a trailblazer in her own way. I’m not so close with her, we’ve had a couple of interactions, but she seems like a nice girl. So not bad about that comparison at all, she’s a good player.”
The winner of Eala and Fernandez will play either Jasmine Paolini or Zeynep Sonmez, the latter of whom is a close friend of the Filipina star.
Alexandra Eala’s record against players ranked above her in 2026
Eala will have her work cut out for her at the Women’s Stuttgart Open and the tournament will unfortunately explore one of the star’s biggest weaknesses in 2026.
The star has already lost five times to players ranked above her this season, with most of her victories coming against lower-ranked stars.
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The star has been knocked out of 2026 events in matches against Ekaterina Alexandrova, Coco Gauff, Linda Noskova, Karolina Muchova, and Jelena Ostapenko.
In contrast, Eala has only managed to defeat two stars ranked above her in 2026 so far, and they came in back-to-back tournaments.
Eala knocked Paolini out of the Dubai Championships and followed it up with a win against Gauff in Indian Wells, which came via retirement.
If Eala wants to progress through the Women’s Stuttgart Open, she will have to change her record very quickly.