Alex Eala rediscovered her winning touch in emphatic fashion, dismantling France’s Diane Parry, 6-3, 6-1, to open her campaign in the 2026 Ningbo Open on Monday evening at the Ningbo Yinzhou Tennis Center in China.
The Filipina tennis ace needed just two sets to dispatch Parry and advance to the Round of 16 of the WTA 500 tournament, putting an end to a difficult stretch where she struggled to find her rhythm in recent competitions.
Eala entered the tournament after suffering opening-round exits at the Singapore Tennis Open and the Wuhan Open. She also fell in the semifinals of the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, settling for a bronze medal.
Against Parry, however, Eala showed renewed confidence, particularly in the second set, when she overwhelmed the Frenchwoman with aggressive returns and timely winners.
After trading holds early in the opening set, Eala broke Parry’s serve to take a 3-2 lead. Although the Frenchwoman immediately broke back to level the score at 3-all, Eala responded by breaking Parry again before holding serve to move ahead, 5-3.
The 21-year-old then capitalized on Parry’s errors, including a double fault, to secure another break and close out the opening set, 6-3.
Eala carried that momentum into the second set, where she put Parry under relentless pressure. The Filipina won the first four games, stringing together consecutive service breaks to build a commanding 4-0 advantage.
Parry managed to get on the scoreboard, but Eala quickly regained control, breaking the Frenchwoman once more to move within a game of victory at 5-1.
Serving for the match, Eala made no mistake, completing the victory to book her place in the next round.
The win also marked the first meeting between Eala and Parry on the professional tour.
Eala will next face either Yulia Putintseva or world No. 16 Diana Shnaider in the Round of 16 as she looks to build on her strong start in Ningbo.
