Alex Eala crashes out of Japan Open in first round after straight-set loss to Tereza Valentova

Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala suffered an early exit at the Japan Women’s Open, falling to Czech rising star Tereza Valentova in straight sets, 6–1, 6–2, on Tuesday afternoon at the Utsubo Tennis Center in Osaka.

The 20-year-old Eala struggled to find her rhythm against the 18-year-old world No. 78, who came into the main draw through the qualifiers after scoring big wins over Alina Charaeva and Belgian Greet Minnen — the same player Eala defeated just weeks ago in Suzhou. 

Valentova’s heavy groundstrokes and sharp returns proved too much to handle, as she broke Eala’s serve multiple times en route to sealing the victory in just over an hour of play.

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Pinay tennis star Alex Eala exits 2025 Japan Women’s Open after loss to Czechia’s Tereza Valentova. pic.twitter.com/MAVnWgUX8M

— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) October 14, 2025

The loss comes as a setback for Eala, who entered the Japan swing on the heels of a strong stretch in China. 

She reached the semifinals of the WTA 125 Jingshan Open on September 27 and followed that up with a quarterfinal finish at the WTA 125 Suzhou Open a week later — performances that boosted her world ranking to a career-high No. 54.

However, after a brief rest following her first-round exit in the Wuhan Open qualifiers, Eala struggled to regain her form against the in-form Valentova, who capitalized on early momentum to keep the Filipina on the defensive for much of the match.

Despite the tough start in Osaka, Eala’s 2025 season is far from over. The Guadalajara Open WTA 125 champion is slated to return to action next week at the Guangzhou Open in China, followed by the Hong Kong Open from October 27 to November 2 — both WTA 250 tournaments where she aims to close out her breakout season on a high note.

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