FILDERSTADT, Stuttgart — Good fortune eluded World No. 45 Alexandra ‘Alex’ Eala as she failed this time to make a dent in the opening round of 32 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 500 Stuttgart Open, losing to Canadian standout Leylah Fernandez, 1-6, 4-6.
Despite the loss, Ealabagged €11,309 (approximately ₱798,000), significantly raising her career earnings to more than US$1.86 million in prize money.
The Filipina star missed an opportunity to climb the WTA rankings with the one-sided defeat. in her opening match at the indoor clay-court of the 8,000 capacity Grand Porsche Arena in Filderstadt, 13 kilometers south of Stuttgart.
Eala was broken twice as Fernandez, ranked No. 25, raced to a 5-0 lead en route to closing the opening set out in dominant fashion. The Canadian of mixed Filipino-Columbian descent followed by securing two more breaks as she surged to a 5-2 advantage in the second set before she was broken for the only time when she served for the match.
The country’s pride then saved two match points on her own serve at 3-5, but her 23-year-old rival took her second opportunity to serve the match out. In what was her first encounter with fellow left-hander Fernandez, Eala won just 46 of the 109 points.
Eala’s first round exit in Stuttgart has seen her earn $13,211 in prize money and collect a single WTA ranking point. If Eala had won her opening match, she would have collected 60 points—which would have lifted her to a projected ranking of 38th.
Eala is next scheduled to compete at the Madrid Open—the first clay-court WTA 1000 event of the season—which will be held from April 21 to May 3.