ALEX Eala failed to progress at the WTA Thailand Open, losing to sixth seed Tatjana Maria of Germany, 2-6, 2-6, in the round of 32 at True Arena Hua Hin on Tuesday.
The 17-year-old Filipina trailed Maria, 35, throughout the match.
See Carlos Yulo, Hidilyn Diaz to skip SEA Games due to Olympic qualifiers
Maria, fresh from her W40 Pune, India championship, led 5-1, in the second set, slipped briefly and allowed Eala to take the next game before recovering, sealing the match with two aces.
Earlier this week, Eala defeated Xinyun Han and Kristina Dmitruk in the qualifiers to enter the main draw of the WTA event.
Although it was a short stint, the WTA No. 214 said she was pleased to playu in Thailand.
"It was a great experience getting through the qualies and playing the main draw in this WTA 250k tournament. It was great to be playing back home in Southeast Asia!"
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
