Eala clashes with doubles partner Jovic in Roland Garros opener

May 22 ------ ONTO her second Grand Slam of the year, Alex Eala will meet American world No. 17 Iva Jovic in the opener of the 2026 Roland Garros French Open.

The draw was determined on Thursday night via Roland Garros YouTube Live. While they have shared the court as doubles partners twice this year, it will be the first singles meeting between the two real-life friends. Eala, ranked 38th in the world, is hoping to surpass her first-round exit in her Roland Garros debut last year.

The Filipina is coming off a loss to Elena Rybakina in the WTA 500 Strasbourg in France, which served as her final tune-up before the clay-court slam. Jovic, 18, meanwhile, is coming off a loss to fellow American Emma Navarro in the second round of the same tournament. The two partnered at Indian Wells, where they exited in the first round after losing to Jelena Ostapenko and Hailey Baptiste, as well as the ASB Classic, where they reached the semifinals before bowing to Chinese pair Yijan Xu and Zhaoxuan Yang.

Specific match dates are still to be determined, as the French Open is still running its qualifying rounds. Main draw action begins Monday, Manila time.

Source: spin.ph