Eala aims for a major upset against Kostyuk in their Italian Open opener.
The sensational Alexandra Eala and Marta Kostyuk are set to face off for the first time in the opening round of the WTA 2025 Italian Open (Internazionali BNL d’Italia). The winner of this clash earns a second-round battle with 14th seed Daria Kasatkina, a competent clay player and former semi-finalist at the Rome Masters.
Eala, who turned pro in 2020 at age 15, has reached a career-high ranking of World No. 70. While the left-handed Filipino is still seeking a Grand Slam main-draw breakthrough and her first WTA singles title, she made waves recently at the 2025 Miami Open where she reached the semi-final. In doing so, she hunted down big names like Iga Swiatek, Madison Keys, Jelena Ostapenko and Paula Badosa.
On the other hand, Kostyuk turned professional at just 14 and currently sits at a career-high world no. 16. The 22-year-old Ukrainian is coming fresh off a Quarter-final appearance at the Madrid Open where she bowed out to the eventual winner Aryna Sabalenka.
Alexandra Eala and Marta Kostyuk do not have a head-to-head match-up yet.
Eala’s moment of resurgence has come with her best performance at the 2025 Miami Open, where she reached her first WTA 1000 semi-final. Along the way, she picked up notable wins over Jelena Ostapenko, Paula Badosa, Madison Keys, and world No. 2 Iga Swiatek before losing to Jessica Pegula in three sets. In her recent appearance at the Madrid Open, she lost to Iga Swiatek in the Round of 64.
Kostyuk has reached the quarterfinals at two tournaments this season, the Qatar Open and Madrid Open. She was beaten in three sets by Amanda Anisimova in Doha and lost to world No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka, in Madrid in hard-fought straight sets, with both sets going to tiebreaks.
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| Alexandra Eala | Category | Marta Kostyuk |
| 70 | Ranking | 27 |
| 170-101 | Career W-L | 228-138 |
| 16-10 | YTD W-L | 14-10 |
| 0 | Career Titles | 1 |
| 0 | Grand Slams | 0 |
| 0 | YTD Titles | 0 |
Kostyuk, with her Grand Slam experience and tour-level consistency, is the slight favorite on paper, but Eala’s lefty game and recent upsets, especially at the Miami Open, could make this a potential upset.
Prediction: Marta Kostyuk in straight sets
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