Rising star Alex Eala has been handed a difficult opening assignment at the Stuttgart Open as she will take on former Grand Slam finalist Leylah Fernandez at the WTA 500 event.

Eala and Fernandez have both landed in the top half of the draw in Germany as they find themselves in the same bracket as reigning Australian Open champion and top seed Elena Rybakina.

But it will be left-hander against left-hander in the opening round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in what will be a first-career meeting between the pair.

And both have Filipino heritage as Eala is from the Philippines while Fernandez’s mother is a Filipino-Canadian.

More About Leylah Fernandez

Leylah Fernandez was born on 6 September 2002 in Montreal, Quebec, to Jorge – who hails from Ecuador – and Irene (née Exevea) Fernandez, who is a Filipino Canadian.

The Canadian first broke through on the WTA Tour in 2020 as she reached her maiden final at the Mexican Open, losing in three sets against Heather Watson.

She peaked at No 88 that year, but it was in 2021 when she truly hit peak – to date any way – as she won her first title at the Monterrey Open with a two-set win over Viktorija Golubic in March.

Six months later, she shot to fame when she beat Grand Slam winners Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber en route to the quarter-final of the US Open. She then upset former world No 3 Elina Svitolina and second seed Aryna Sabalenka to reach the final.

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She faced Emma Raducanu in what was a battle of the teenagers and it was the Brit who came out on top with a straight-set win.

Fernandez broke into the top 30 of the WTA Rankings on the back of that run while the successful defence of her Monterrey title and a quarter-final appearance at Wimbledon in 2022 saw her reach a career-high No 13.

The Canadian has since managed to win another three titles with her most recent trophy at the Japan Women’s Open last October, but her inability to enjoy deep runs at the majors and WTA 1000 events has prevented her from cracking the top 20 again.

WTA Rankings And Form

Fernandez is currently at No 24 in the rankings while Eala sits at No 46.

But Fernandez has not made a good start to the 2026 campaign as she is 4-9 for the year, as she has suffered five opening-round defeats, while her most recent tournament was the Charleston Open where she lost 6-3, 6-0 in the second round against Diana Shnaider.

Eala, meanwhile, is 14-8 so far this season with her best run a semi-final appearance at the ASB Classic while she also reached the last eight of the Philippine Women’s Open (WTA Challenger Tour), the Abu Dhabi Open and the Dubai Tennis Championships.

The Filipina’s last outing was at the Linz Open where she lost in the second round against Jelena Ostapenko with the Latvian winning 6-4, 7-5.

When Is The Match?

The first-round encounter is set for Monday, 13 April, but the order of play is still to be confirmed by organisers.

But Eala and Fernandez are likely to be the main match on the day, especially with the top four seeds Rybakina, Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek and Svitolina only starting their campaigns in the second round.