Alex Eala misses big WTA Rankings opportunity after suffering comeback defeat in Strasbourg
Alexandra Eala’s time at the Internationaux de Strasbourg came to an end in the first round as she was beaten by Oleksandra Oliynykova in three sets.
The match, which nearly hit the three hour mark, was evenly-contested and another great advert for the WTA Tour, but Eala was not able to capitalise on taking a first set lead.
The Filipina won the first set 6-3, but she produced a special comeback to take the next two sets 7-5, 6-3 to continue her journey through the competition.
The Ukrainian will now await the winner of Kateřina Siniaková vs Marie Bouzková, whose first round match will culminate by the end of Monday’s order of play.
As for Eala, she missed a major opportunity to try and climb back up the rankings after suffering several slips throughout the clay court swing.
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The star has won just four matches on clay so far this year from her first four tournaments, and she now sits at World No. 35 in the WTA Tour rankings.
Her best effort came at the Italian Open, where she defeated Magdalena Frech and Xinyu Wang, before losing out to Elena Rybakina in the third round.
With Emma Raducanu, Janice Tjen, and Jacqueline Cristian all in action at either Strasbourg or Rabat, Eala could be on the cusp of falling out of the top 40 before she arrives at Roland Garros.
Thankfully for Eala, the Filipina star is yet to taste victory at Roland Garros so she will not lose anymore ranking points with an early exit in Paris.
Eala became the first Filipina star to play Roland Garros in 2025, when she made her maiden appearance at the clay court Grand Slam.
Her time in the competition ended in the first round, however, as she was defeated by Emiliana Arango in three sets.
However, Eala does have previous history with the Grand Slam from her junior days. The Filipina star teamed with Oksana Selekhmeteva in 2021 as the pair won the junior doubles title.
They defeated Maria Bondarenko and Amarissa Kiara Tóth in straight sets in the final to confirm the junior Grand Slam crown.
That was not the first junior doubles title Eala won at Grand Slam level either, as she also won the 2020 Australian Open girls doubles title.
She was paired with Priska Madelyn Nugroho and they defeated Živa Falkner and Matilda Mutavdzic in the final.
Eala will be hoping she can replicate her Grand Slam junior success at her second-ever appearance at Roland Garros. Although not a clay court specialist, there is every chance Eala earns her maiden victory on the French dirt.
