Alex Eala made an early exit in the 2021 Wimbledon girls singles tournament on Thursday, July 8 at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in London.

Spain’s Ane Mintegi del Olmo outlasted Eala, 3-6, 6-4, 6-5, in the second round of the girls singles event.

After Eala took the opening set, Del Omo found momentum and cruised to a 4-0 lead in the second set.

But the Filipina teen tennis sensation staged a comeback to tie the score at 4-4. But the Spaniard broke Eala’s serve and pushed the set to a decider with back-to-back games.

Though Del Omo led by 3-1 in the third set, Eala knotted the score at 3-3, then struggled to overcome Del Omo, who eventually nailed the third round berth.

But Eala hopes to keep her title bid going in the doubles event where she teamed up with Indonesian Priska Nugroho, the same partner she had in winning the 2020 Australian Open girls doubles title.

Eala aims to pick up her third Grand Slam title after coming fresh off a 2021 French Open girls doubles title romp last June.

In last year’s French Open, Eala also made history as she became the first Filipino in 35 years since Felix Barrientos in the 1985 Wimbledon tournament to make the last four of a Grand Slam juniors singles event.

At 15 years old, Eala became a pro titlist in the women’s $15,000 tournament in Manacor, Spain at the start of the year. – Rappler.com