Alex Eala is set to see action in the WTA 125 Philippine Open.
This became all but certain after the Filipina tennis ace officially wrapped up her 2026 Australian Open campaign, bowing out in the opening round of the women’s doubles competition on Tuesday.
Eala and her partner, Ingrid Martins of Brazil, squandered several golden opportunities as they fell in three sets to Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Poland’s Magda Linette, 6–7(3), 6–2, 3–6, in the first round at Melbourne Park.
Currently at a career-high world doubles ranking of No. 134, Eala, alongside world No. 80 Martins, had their chances to seize early control of the match.
The pair raced to a commanding 4–0 lead in the opening set, but the veteran duo of Aoyama, 38, and Linette, 33, remained composed. The two steadily worked their way back, trimming the deficit to 4–3.
Although Eala and Martins extended their advantage to 5–3, Aoyama and Linette mounted another rally, forcing a tiebreak after leveling the score in the 12th game.
The seasoned pair then took charge in the breaker, jumping to a 3–0 lead and never looking back en route to claiming the opening set.
The second set saw the Filipina-Brazilian tandem respond with renewed intensity. Once again, they surged ahead 4–0, but this time made sure not to relinquish the advantage.
After the Japanese-Polish duo claimed the fifth and sixth games, Eala and Martins swept the next two to level the match and force a decider.
Aoyama, a 2023 Australian Open women’s doubles finalist and former world No. 4, and Linette, a 2023 US Open doubles quarterfinalist, ensured they would not stumble out of the gates again in the third set. Instead, they stormed to a 4–0 lead of their own.
Eala and Martins threatened a comeback when they closed the gap to 4–3, but that proved to be as close as they would get.
Aoyama and Linette sealed the match in the ninth game at Court 12 of Melbourne Park after two hours and 36 minutes.
