Eala ends skid, wins tennis title in Spain tilt

MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala finally broke out of a slump this season, blanking Swiss bet Valentina Ryser with a 6-3, 7-5 win to rule the W25 Yecla in Spain on Sunday.

The Filipina tennis sensation wasted a championship point but made up for it by owning the next two games in the tiebreaker of the second set to bag her first professional title this year.

Eala broke Ryser’s serve in the extended game of the second set and was not to be denied in the clincher for her third overall pro championship.

The lefty wunderkind last won a title in 2022 by winning the W25 Chiang Rai in Thailand for her second mint after a breakthrough run in the 2021 W25 Manacor also in Spain.

This time after a string of early exits in Europe, the United States, Thailand and Australia, Eala at last took care of business sparked by a 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 win over Great Britain’s Katy Dunne and a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 triumph against France’s Nahia Berecoechea in the opening rounds.

There was no looking back for Eala, who just turned 18 last month, by besting Mexico’s Victoria Rodriguez, 6-1, 6-3, and Argentina’s Lucia Peyre, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.

Even the older Ryser, 22 years old, the WTA No. 560 and with three titles in her pocket, could not stop the rampaging Pinay ace from there on as the No. 2 seed Eala played as good as advertised.

Eala, who started the year at WTA No. 214 has since slid down to No. 266 but she is expected to climb the ranks anew with this big win.

Her ranking at WTA No. 214 was also her career-best after winning the US Open juniors championships last year to become the first Filipina junior singles Grand Slam champion.

She had previously won two junior doubles titles in the Australian Open and French Open.