Eala’s slump continues in Wuhan

MANILA, Philippines — It’s a double whammy for Alex Eala in a flat return to the pro circuit.

Eala and her good pal Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey folded to the Ukrainian pair of Dayana Yastremska and Anhelina Kalinina, 6-2, 6-3, to bow out early in the WTA1000 Wuhan Open yesterday at the Optics Valley International Tennis Center in Hubei, China.

It’s the second straight loss for Eala in less than 24 hours, after absorbing a massive Round 1 upset at the hands of world No. 217 Han Shi of China late Monday, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6.

Ranked No. 19 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), Eala was the No. 13 seed in the 1000-level tour after the withdrawal of other top-ranked players with high expectation of a deep run only to get bombed out in the Round of 64.

The 21-year-old Filipina pride, prior to that, also fell in two tournaments where she’s a heavy favorite and top-seeded player.

Eala, as the No. 3 seed, fell to No. 180 Tatiana Prozorova of Russia in the Singapore Open Round of 16 before blowing a shot at glory in the 20th Asian Games after a semifinal loss as the No. 1 seed to No. 85 Xiyu Wang of China.

Three tournaments to start her Asian swing, three defeats against lower-ranked opponents.

In a rare funk, not even Eala’s reunion with her close friend in Sonmez, WTA No. 59, could evade the same fate in the doubles’ play after a flat 0-4 start marred by losing their first two serves.