A LOSS, but not totally.
Alex Eala lost to world No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, 6-4, 6-3, in the third round of the Italian Open, but not after putting up a whale of a fight.
READ Eala ousts world No. 33 Wang, reaches Italian Open third round
The 20-year-old Filipina put up a gallant fight against Rybakina in a match that lasted an hour and 32 minutes on Sunday night (Manila time).
While she couldn’t sustain her early momentum, she held her ground against the champion and even managed a 2-1 lead in the second set.
Eala also noticeably showed noticeable improvement on her forehand game backed by her usually reliable backhand.
Rybakina is the latest on a list of the world's best that Eala had faced, counting wins against former world No. 2 (now No. 3) Iga Swiatek and No. 4 Coco Gauff.
The loss ended Eala’s stint in Rome, her fourth clay tournament of the year following stints at the Linz Open, Stuttgart Open, and Madrid Open.
Reaching the third round of the WTA 1000 event is her best finish on clay to date as she continues her preparation for the 2026 French Open at Roland Garros, scheduled for the end of the month.
The BNL d’Italia marks Eala’s 12th contest of the 2026 season, following a solid stretch on hard courts in Auckland, Manila, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Dubai, California, and Miami.
The world No. 42 now holds a 4-4 win-loss record on the red clay across four tournaments.
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