Alex Eala’s journey in the 2024 US Open came to an end as the young Filipina tennis star fell to Romania’s Elena Gabriela Ruse in a three-set encounter on Friday morning (Manila time) at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York City.
Ruse, a seasoned competitor ranked as high as 51st in the world in 2022, proved to be a formidable opponent.
Ruse has competed in the main draws of all four Grand Slam tournaments, including four appearances at Wimbledon, and made the second round of both the Australian Open and the US Open in 2022.
The match was closely contested, lasting two hours and four minutes.
Ruse managed to maintain her composure despite dropping the first set and trailing 2-3 in the third.
A critical moment came when Ruse broke Eala’s serve in the seventh game of the final set, allowing her to pull ahead. She consolidated her advantage by holding serve in the eighth game, establishing a 5-3 lead.
Eala’s early advantage, gained by winning the first set, proved fleeting as Ruse found her rhythm and turned the match around.
Despite a strong start, Eala could not sustain her performance against the experienced Romanian.
The 19-year-old Eala entered the match with hopes of building on the momentum from her victories in the first two rounds.
She began her campaign with a win over Australia’s Maddison Inglis, 6-3, 2-6, 6-1, and followed up with a surprising straight-set victory against world No. 99 Nuria Párrizas Díaz of Spain, 7-5, 7-5.
This was Eala’s third attempt to make history for Philippine tennis. No Filipina has ever qualified for the singles main draw of a Grand Slam event.
She also reached the final round of the qualifying tournaments for the French Open in May and Wimbledon in June, but fell short in both instances with close losses.
