Tennis

Alex Eala falls short in 2nd pro title bid

Beatrice Go

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Alex Eala falls short in 2nd pro title bid

BOWING OUT. Alex Eala takes a break before her 3rd straight pro tournament on Monday, February 1.

Photo from Rafael Nadal Academy

Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala avoids a complete shutout in her loss to the event No. 7 seed

Alex Eala fell short of her bid to claim another crown after exiting in the 2nd leg of the ITF Rafael Nadal Academy World Tennis Tour on Friday, January 29 in Manacor, Spain.

The Filipina tennis ace failed to advance in the Final Four as she bowed to tournament No. 7 Ylena In-Albon of Switzerland, 6-0, 6-3, in the quarterfinals of the women’s $15,000 tournament.

But Eala, the 1st leg titlist, will have another chance to make it far in the tour as she sees action again as a junior reserve player in the 3rd leg that will kick off on February 1.

The 21-year-old In-Albon headed into the match in fine form as she hasn’t lost a set in the tournament.

And it sure came in full display as the Swiss broke serve right in the opening game and completely shut out Eala in the 1st set.

The 15-year-old Eala, though, avoided a donut in the 2nd set and broke serve after In-Albon went 3-0.

Eala then showed signs of life as she scored 3 straight games to tie the score at 3-3.

But after stunning the Swiss momentarily, In-Albon finished off the match and continued her pristine run in the tournament.

Eala entered the competition fresh from her maiden pro title romp last Sunday, January 24 in the opening leg of the tennis tour, where the Filipina teen defeated 28-year-old hometown bet Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers in the finals.

After kicking off the 2020 season with her maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne, the rising tennis star became the Philippines’ first junior Grand Slam semifinalist in 35 years in the Roland Garros girls singles tournament– Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!
Clothing, Apparel, Person

author

Beatrice Go

More commonly known as Bee, Beatrice Go is a multimedia sports reporter for Rappler, who covers Philippine sports governance, national teams, football, and the UAAP. Stay tuned for her news and features on Philippine sports and videos like the Rappler Athlete’s Corner and Rappler Sports Timeout.