By Joel Reyes
The women’s singles draw for the 2026 Italian Open has just been released, with Alex Eala set to face Magdalena Frech in the first round.
Eala will look for a much better showing in Rome this year after she suffered an embarrassing 0-6, 1-6 loss to Marta Kostyuk in the first round of the 2025 edition.
Eala has had a rough start to her clay campaign this season, losing three of her five matches on the red dirt thus far. She suffered early exits at the Linz Open, Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, and the Madrid Open before her trip to Italy.