Barbora Krejcikova needed a comeback to avoid becoming the second consecutive Wimbledon women's champion to lose in the first round a year later at the All England Club, eventually eliminating 56th-ranked Alexandra Eala of the Philippines 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 at Centre Court on Tuesday.
From the start of the Open era in 1968 through 2023, only one reigning women's champ was defeated in the first round at Wimbledon: Steffi Graf in 1994.
But it happened last year to Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic - whose title in 2023 made her the first unseeded woman to leave the All England Club with the singles trophy - and there were moments early Tuesday that it appeared it might happen again this year to the 17th-seeded Krejcikova, another Czech player and the French Open champion in 2021 .
Eala is a 20-year-old left-hander who was competing at a Grand Slam tournament for only the second time. She lost in the first round at Roland-Garros in May.
Eala is the only woman representing the Philippines to compete in the main draw of Wimbledon in the Open era.