Alex Eala could not quite put the points together when it mattered most, missing out on a chance to extend her historic run at Wimbledon.
The 29th-seeded Eala dropped a hard-fought 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 decision to 13th seed Jasmine Paolini of Italy on Monday in the fourth round of the Wimbledon Championships.
Eala entered the match hoping to replicate her February victory over Paolini, when she cruised past the Italian, 6-1, 7-6 (5), in the second round of the 2026 Dubai Tennis Championships.
This time, however, the Italian No. 1 was determined to turn the tables.
Paolini came out aggressively from the opening game, refusing to let Eala settle into a rhythm by moving the Filipina from one corner of the baseline to the other.
The 2024 Wimbledon finalist raced to a 4-1 lead and looked poised to take the opening set comfortably.
Eala responded by putting together a late rally to close the gap to 5-4.
However, she was unable to hold serve in the 10th game, allowing Paolini to secure the first set after 51 minutes.
Showing renewed urgency, Eala took control early in the second set by breaking serve in the third game for a 2-1 lead — her first advantage of the match.
Paolini immediately broke back to level the score at 2-2, but Eala earned another crucial service break in the seventh game to move ahead 5-3.
That proved to be enough separation. Eala held serve in the 10th game to claim the second set and force a deciding third.
The final set remained tightly contested, with both players holding serve through the first seven games.
Eala struggled to land her first serve consistently, while Paolini mixed winners with untimely errors to keep the contest even. The turning point came in the eighth game when Eala committed a double fault at deuce, eventually surrendering her serve to give Paolini a 5-3 lead.
The Italian then held serve in the ninth game to seal the victory after two hours and 23 minutes.
