Eala falters after strong start vs Polish, ends Nottingham Open campaign

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala wasted a 3-0 lead in the first set and never recovered from there en route to a 6-4, 6-3 loss to Poland’s Magda Linette in the first round of the 2025 Lexus Nottingham Open main draw Tuesday in England.

Eala’s rousing start banished in a quick turnaround as the higher-ranked Linette, WTA No. 31, unleashed a booming 6-1 retaliation for the opening set win.

It was all Linette, seeded No. 6, from there on despite Eala managing to even things out at 2-2 as the Polish bet unleashed another 4-1 finishing kick on the WTA No. 77 Eala for the win in only one hour and 39 minutes.

Eala’s defeat was a far cry from her steady resolve in the qualifiers, where she grinded out two three-set thrillers to make it to the main tournament.

She then escaped with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win against France’s Varvara Gracheva before pulling off another close win over Romania’s Anca Todoni, 6-3, 6(4)-7, 6-3.

The Notthingham Open was part of Eala’s preparations for the Wimbledon slated on June 30 to July 11 in London. 

Following the French Open, the Wimbledon will be the second straight Grand Slam tourney for Eala this year after barging into WTA’s elite Top 100 rankings to become eligible in all major main draws.

Linette, who’s already qualified in the main draw, had two aces and forced Eala to four double faults with the majority coming in her first-set comeback. 

Up next for her is either home bet Mingge Xu and Katie Volynets of the United States in the Round of 16.