For the second time in her career, Alex Eala has defeated a current World No. 2.

Eala found the antidote to Elena Rybakina’s power, precision, and aggression, carving out a composed 7-5, 6-4 victory over the two-time Grand Slam champion from Kazakhstan on Thursday in the second round of the WTA 500 Berlin Tennis Open.

The two met for the first time last May 10 on clay in the third round of the WTA 1000 Italian Open, where Rybakina prevailed in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.

Coming off a title run at the WTA 125 Lexus Birmingham Open two weeks ago, the 21-year-old Filipina entered the matchup hoping to flip the script against Rybakina on grass.

But the Kazakh star immediately reminded everyone of her pedigree on the surface, the same one that carried her to the 2022 Wimbledon crown.

In the last match of the day on Centre Court at the Steffi Graf Stadion of the Rot-Weiss Tennis Club, Rybakina came out firing, using her serve and baseline winners to surge ahead 4-2.

But Eala refused to back down, showing remarkable resilience as she broke Rybakina in the eighth game to level at 4-4.

The Kazakh briefly reclaimed the lead in the ninth game, but Eala shut the door from there, sweeping the rest of the set to take a one-set advantage.

Eala’s growing confidence, fueled by her ability to extend rallies and draw errors from Rybakina, carried into the second set.

She secured an early break in the third game to move ahead 3-1.

Although Rybakina held serve in her next three service games, Eala matched her shot for shot, maintaining control to complete a statement victory over the second seed.

Eala now advances to the quarterfinals, where she will face sixth seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, who earlier defeated hometown bet Eva Lys, 6-3, 6-2.

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Italy averted a massive meltdown and denied fellow European side Serbia in a thrilling 25–14, 25–15, 18–25, 21–25, 15–12 marathon to keep its Week 2 campaign unscathed in the 2026 FIVB Women’s Volleyball Nations League presented by the Philippine Sports Commission on Thursday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

In full control early, the reigning champions appeared set for a straight-sets win before the Balkans finally found their rhythm and dragged the match into a deciding fifth set. Serbia, however, ran out of steam down the stretch as Italy steadied itself to secure back-to-back wins in the week.

Serbia mounted a last-ditch comeback, even leveling the fifth set at 10 after trailing by four. The Italians then faltered with several errors before Nina Cajic delivered a timely kill to keep her side within striking distance.

But back-to-back kills from Josephine Obossa and a Linda Nwakalor block on Anja Zubic restored Italy’s cushion at 13–10.

From there, an exchange of points sealed the match in one hour and 43 minutes.

Obossa led the charge for Italy with 18 points, while Sarah Fahr added 17 and Linda Nwakalor chipped in 13.

Ekaterina Antropova, limited early, finished with 12 points to round out the balanced attack for the defending champions.

“This game is full of ups and downs the whole time. We started really well, but then when they put in their starters, we struggled a little bit. But I think we did some good things and some things we had to work on. This is a new team, and also young, so we have to figure it out,” said Obossa, an opposite hitter playing in Japan for the Toray Arrows.

The defending champions were off to the races at the onset, capitalizing on Serbia’s fatigue after a five-set battle against Japan the other night and the opponent’s decision to field a rotated lineup.

After Serbia winger Vanja Bukilic cut the deficit to six, 10–16, with a well-timed spike, Italy stretched the lead back to double digits after Fahr denied Tica at the net, cruising to a dominant opening set.

The second set followed a similar pattern as the world No. 1 side overwhelmed Serbia with 11 attack points, but it was their net defense that truly broke the opposition’s resistance.

Fahr continued to be a menace at the net, collecting three more blocks in the set for a total of five. Obossa added two rejections as Italy finished with six blocks in the second frame alone.

Serbia, however, had other plans and surged early in the third set behind Nina Cajic, who led the charge with six points.

The World No. 9 side then capitalized on Italy’s errors in the fourth set, overturning an 11–17 deficit into a 25–21 win to force a decider.

Italy, though, would not be denied, with Obossa and Fahr leading the way with 18 and 17 points, respectively.

The reigning Olympic champions, now 5–1, will face the in-form USA in a high-stakes clash on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Cajic finished with a game-high 19 points on 17 kills, one block, and one service ace for Serbia, but it was not enough as the side absorbed a fourth straight five-set heartbreak.

The Southeast European squad (1–4) will look to snap its skid against the Dominican Republic in less than 24 hours on Friday at 4 p.m.

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Japan pulled off the biggest upset of the day, fending off Serbia’s bid to pull off a shock win, 20–25, 26–24, 18–25, 32–30, 15–7, to stay perfect and close the opening day of Week 2 in the 2026 FIVB Women’s Volleyball Nations League, presented by the Philippine Sports Commission, on Wednesday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Despite being repeatedly denied at the net by Serbia’s block, it was Ishikawa Mayu and the rest of Hinotori Nippon who delivered in the deciding set to preserve their unblemished five-game run this season.

Japan had to survive a near-collapse in the fourth set, where Serbia even had multiple match points, before Shimamura Haruyo and Sato Yoshino came through with crucial attack points to finally end the nearly 40-minute frame and force a decider.

In the fifth set, Japan quickly seized control, building a 7–4 lead behind a Wada Yukiko down-the-line kill, enough cushion to steady their rhythm.

A closing 8–3 run sealed the hard-fought victory in just over two hours, with captain Ishikawa fittingly delivering the final two attacks.

“Today, it was a good comeback. Serbia played a really great match, and we struggled during the match. But after a while, we got it. It was the fifth victory in five matches; it’s good, and we have to continue this rhythm,” said head coach Ferhat Akbaş, who is in his second year with the team.

Serbia nearly took a 2–0 lead after the first two sets, with Hena Kurtagic and Aleksandra Uzelac leading the charge.

Kurtagic scored most of her 15 points from 10 attacks and five blocks across the second and third sets, while Uzelac consistently paced Serbia with 21 points built on 19 kills and two aces.

Kitamado Ayane and Japan, however, refused to back down, with the wing spiker’s service pressure helping spark a crucial 4–0 run that clinched the second set and shifted momentum.

Ishikawa and Wada finished with more than 20 points apiece to lead Japan’s balanced attack, while Sato and Shimamura also reached double figures.

The captain finished with a game-high 23 points on 22 attacks, including the decisive hits in the fifth set, while Wada added 20 spikes and 10 digs.

Japan will aim for a sixth straight win on Friday against Czechia (3–2) at 8 p.m., while Serbia will look to bounce back against reigning champion Italy (4–1) on Thursday at 8 p.m.

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