Alex Eala puts her singles first-round French Open exit behind her to secure her first win in the doubles division

Filipino tennis sensation Alex Eala has emerged as arguably the best young player to come out of Southeast Asia in recent years, with the 20-year-old establishing herself as a rising star to watch.

Eala showcased her talent with a historic run at the recently concluded Miami Open, where she reached the semifinal stage. The Filipina star defeated three Grand Slam winners en route to the semifinals, marking the deepest tournament run by a Filipino tennis player in history.

The young tennis prodigy continues to make history, achieving a new milestone in her career by jumping to No. 69 in the latest Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings. However, Eala’s French Open debut did not go as planned, as she was eliminated in the first round after losing to Colombia’s Emiliana Arango, 0–6, 6–2, 3–6, on Court 6 at Roland Garros in Paris.

Alex Eala🇵🇭 and Renata Zarazua🇲🇽 just won their 1st round doubles match at #RolandGarros vs Appleton🇬🇧 and Cavalle-Reimers🇪🇸, 7-5, 6-4! Alex won the juniors doubles title here back in 2021 with Oksana Selekhmeteva. Go Alex and Renata!! pic.twitter.com/gHGWAkVySR

— Backhand Dig (@GameSet_bhd) May 27, 2025

Despite her early singles exit, Eala took to Instagram to vow to return stronger in the future.

“First Grand Slam main draw in the books! Back to the drawing board for now, but will come back stronger next time. See you for doubles, Roland Garros,” Eala wrote.

Eala bounced back from her singles disappointment by registering her first career French Open victory in the doubles division. Teaming up with Renata Zarazua of Mexico, the duo cruised past Emily Appleton of the United Kingdom and Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers of Spain, 7–5, 6–4, on Wednesday, May 28, to advance to the second round of the tournament.

Originally, Eala and Zarazua were set to face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk and Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the first round, but the pair withdrew due to unspecified reasons.

The Eala-Zarazua duo will next face Olga Danilovic of Serbia and Anastasia Potapova of Russia in the second round on Friday, May 30.

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