MANILA, Philippines – It’s back to the drawing board for Alex Eala with just over a week left before the WTA Miami Open.
Seeded thirrd in the singles competition of the ITF 2nd Empire Women’s Indoor 2025, Eala suffered a massive upset in the hands of unseeded Valentina Ryser of Switzerland, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, on Thursday, March 6 (Friday, March 7, Manila time), in the second round held in Trnava, Slovakia.
The world No. 140 Eala was the overwhelming favorite going into the match against world No. 266 Ryser, who actually was just a late replacement for Freya Christie of Great Britain, who pulled out of the competition at the last minute.
Eala was coming off an impressive first-round showing on Tuesday, March 4, when she notched a straight-set triumph over world No. 155 Leyre Romero Gormaz of Spain, 6-4, 6-2, while the 23-year-old Ryser struggled to get past qualifier and world No. 264 Anna Rogers of the United States, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The 19-year-old Eala also held a 1-0 head-to-head advantage over Ryser, a foe she defeated in straight sets during the ITF W25 Yekla in Spain in 2023.
That familiarity initially served Eala in good stead, allowing her to break the Swiss twice in the opener to gain a one-set lead.
Ryser leveled up her play in the second set, erecting a 4-1 lead as she controlled the tempo of the match even though she dropped her serve in the very first game. The Swiss broke Eala for the third time in the eighth game to even the match at a set apiece.
The third set saw a still strong Ryser dominate a fading Eala, who found herself staring at an insurmountable deficit at 1-5.
Eala was in a position to give herself a chance to get back in the match in the eighth game when she went up 40-0 on her serve. She could not, however, convert the points that mattered.
It was all over after just 37 minutes in the deciding set as Ryser closed out, 6-2, to earn for herself a place in the quarterfinals.
Eala was forced to eventually forfeit her quarterfinal match in the doubles event a few hours later, where she and partner Talia Gibson of Australia were scheduled to face Elsa Jacquemot of France and Ines Ibbou of Algeria.
The Filipina teen was hoping to make a deep run this week in the $60,000 ITF event to gain more match play after she was eliminated in the second round of the ITF 1st Empire Women’s Indoor 2025 the previous week.
The two-week ITF series in Slovakia was part of Eala’s preparation for the WTA Miami Open scheduled from March 15-30.
For the third time in four years, Eala has been given a wildcard slot to the main draw of one of the biggest WTA events of the year. – Rappler.com