ROME — Alexandra Eala’s impressive Italian Open campaign came to a halt after the rising Filipina tennis star bowed to world No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, 6-4, 6-3, in the Round of 32 on Sunday night at the BNP Paribas Arena in Rome.
Facing one of the most formidable players on the Women’s Tennis Association Tour, the 20-year-old Eala showed resilience and flashes of brilliance but ultimately struggled to neutralize Rybakina’s overpowering serve and relentless baseline attack in their one-hour and 17-minute showdown.
The former Wimbledon champion dictated the pace from the start, hammering six aces without committing a single double fault while repeatedly putting pressure on Eala’s service games.
Eala managed just one ace and committed five double faults, which proved costly against the Kazakh standout.
Despite the defeat, the Filipina still delivered encouraging numbers, particularly on second serve where she won 55 percent of points compared to Rybakina’s 45 percent.
However, Rybakina dominated the crucial first-serve exchanges, winning 73 percent of those points against Eala’s 57 percent.
The Kazakh star also capitalized on four of her seven break-point opportunities, while Eala converted her lone break chance of the match.
Rybakina finished with 69 total points and won 12 games overall, while Eala collected 60 points and seven games.
Eala entered the third-round clash riding the momentum of a convincing straight-sets victory over China’s Wang Xinyu, a result that boosted her standing in the live WTA rankings.
Although her Rome campaign ended short of the Round of 16, Eala continued to strengthen her growing reputation on the international stage with another solid showing against elite competition in what has become a breakthrough 2026 season for the Filipina netter./PN
