Eala bows out of Italian Open round of 32, succumbs to world No. 2 Rybakina 

Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala still put up a valiant fight against world No. 2 Kazakhstani Elena Rybakina, 6–4, 6–3, during the Italian Open round of 32 at the BNP Paribas Arena in Rome, May 10.

Despite falling prey to another one of Rybakina’s masterclasses, Eala still showed a gutsy effort in attempting to take the lead from the Kazakhstani.

After squandering the first game of the second set, Eala forced the Kazakhstani to commit costly faults that evened the match at one set apiece.

Both netters went band-for-band with another deadlock, 2–2, however, Rybakina’s baseline game and service aces proved to be deadly for the young Filipina, as she regained momentum to pull away with the first set on her side.

But Eala sought to build her rhythm in the early stages of the second set via a nip-and-tuck 2–1 cushion.

Despite her best efforts, the Filipina sensation was unable to whittle down Rybakina’s prowess, ultimately succumbing in the closing window of the showdown.

Eala will now team up with Hailey Baptiste in their doubles campaign, while this win will advance the Kazakhstani to the round of 16, where she will face the winner of the match between Karolína Plíšková and Laura Siegemund.