There would be no measure of payback on Monday for Alex Eala, and there would also be no second-round appearance in Doha.
Playing the first match of the day at the Centre Court of the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex — filled to capacity by Filipino fans — the 20-year-old Eala could not overcome the superior strength of 18-year-old Tereza Valentova of the Czech Republic, who scored a 7-6(6), 6-1 victory in their opening-round matchup in the 2026 Qatar TotalEnergies Open.
Eala and Valentova had previously clashed in the opening round of the WTA 250 Japan Women’s Open last October, with the Czech teen prevailing in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2.
Valentova, ranked No. 48, is the second-youngest player in the top 50 — next only to American teen star Iva Jovic. And she appeared to have read the Filipina’s game well enough to score a repeat win.
The Czech dictated the pace of the contest with powerful, sharp groundstrokes that Eala struggled to counter.
Eala found herself digging out of an early 0-2 hole in a first set marked by momentum swings. She responded in time, taking the next four games.
Valentova, however, showed her own resilience, tying the count at 4-4 and keeping pace through the 12th game to force a tiebreak.
After Eala held a slim 3-2 lead, Valentova strung together four quick points to surge ahead, 6-3.
Eala saved three set points but faltered the rest of the way, allowing the Czech teen to wrap up the set after one hour and two minutes.
The tightly-contested, drawn-out opening set proved to be the confidence boost Valentova needed.
In the second set, she required just 31 minutes to eliminate Eala from the first WTA 1000 event of the year.
Valentova, who reached the third round of the Australian Open this January, will next face her Czech compatriot, world No. 19 Karolina Muchova, who scored a dominant 6-2, 6-3 win over world No. 36 Jaqueline Cristian of Romania on Sunday.
