ALEX Eala suffered a first-round exit at the Bad Homburg Open after falling to Belgium’s Elise Mertens, 3-6, 3-6, in the Round of 32 early Tuesday morning (Manila time).
The Filipina world No. 30 absorbed her third career defeat to the Belgian No. 26, ending her run in what was her fourth grass-court event of the season and likely her final tune-up before the 2026 Wimbledon Championships.
Eala opened brightly and raced to a 3-1 lead, but Mertens quickly seized control, winning five consecutive games to snatch the opening set before carrying that form into the second.
Coming off a demanding week in Berlin and with less than 48 hours of recovery, Eala struggled to force a comeback.
She briefly threatened to close the gap at 2-4 in the second set but could not halt Mertens' charge.
Despite the early singles exit, Eala remains in the doubles draw, where she partners with Venus Williams.
They are scheduled to play their opening match on Tuesday afternoon.
Before Bad Homburg, Mertens beat Eala twice in Madrid earlier this year and Tunisia in 2023.
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.
