MANILA, Philippines — Tennis sensation Alex Eala of the Philippines failed to exact revenge against world No. 21 Elise Mertens of Belgium after taking a 6-2, 6-1 beating in the round of 64 at the 2026 Madrid Open on Friday evening (Manila time) at the Caja Magica (Magic Box), Park Manzanares in Madrid, Spain.
The 20-year-old Filipina, ranked 44th in the world, could not contain the fiery blows and smart angles of the 30-year-old Belgian and lost in straight sets.
Mertens dominated the match with a strong first-serve percentage of 82 percent, while Eala struggled to convert from all her break point opportunities.
Eala and Mertens first met at the Jasmin Open Monastir in Tunisia in October 2023 where the Filipina lost, 5-7, 0-6. During that time, Eala was just a rising star ranked at No. 196, while Mertens was ranked No. 36 and reached a career-high of No. 12 in November 2018.
Eala kicked off her main draw campaign last Wednesday with a dominant 6-3, 6-3 victory over Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Although she is no longer in contention in the singles event, she is still alive in the doubles alongside partner Zeynep Sönmez.
The duo is set to challenge the second-seeded pair, Taylor Townsend and Kateřina Siniaková, in the round-of- 16.
