Filipino tennis star Alex Eala. –RAFA NADAL TWITTER
MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala suffered a second-round loss to Ilona Georgiana Ghioroaie, 5-7, 1-6, in the W60 Bellinzona on Wednesday (Manila time) in Switzerland.
The 15th-seed Eala blew a 5-4 lead in the first set as Ghioroaie took the next three games to take a 1-0 match advantage.
Ghioroaie of Romania, Women’s Tennis Association’s ranked No. 404, dominated the 17-year-old Filipino in the second set to move on to the third round and boot out the latter in the $60,000 tournament.
Eala got a bye in the first round only to fall to Ghioroaie, who has 15 International Tennis Federation singles titles, in the round of 32.
The First Filipino to win a Grand Slam singles title has been struggling in her previous tournaments as she suffered a first-round exit in W60 Chiasso, yielding to Alexandra Ignatik of Romania, 0-6, 2-6.
Eala and Czech partner Barbora Palicova also had an early elimination in the doubles division of the same tournament last week.
The Rafael Nadal Academy scholar’s WTA rankings dropped to No. 257 three days ago from 215 last April 10.
Eala continued to miss the opportunity to earn her third ITF crown after winning the W15 Manacor two years ago and the W25 Chiang Rai in 2022.