Alex Eala bids Wimbledon goodbye as Jasmine Paolini earns quarters berth

MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala shot herself on the foot with costly errors down the stretch as her dream Wimbledon run came to an end.

Eala exited the Championships after a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 loss to 2024 finalist Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the round of 16 at Centre Court of the All England Club on Monday, July 6.

Coming off a stunning ouster of defending champion Iga Swiatek of Poland in the previous round, the Filipina failed to weave the same magic from that breathtaking win as mistakes doomed her in the last two games of the 2-hour, 21-minute battle.

In perhaps the turning point of the match, Eala dropped serve in the eighth game of the deciding set, committing a double fault and a backhand error in succession following a second deuce as she saw Paolini grab a 5-3 lead.

Eala then won the next two points in the ensuing game, but her comeback bid unraveled after coughing up three straight errors to end the match.

The win saw Paolini avenge her loss to Eala in the round of 32 of the Dubai Tennis Championships in the United Arab Emirates in February as the 30-year-old Italian leveled their WTA Tour head-to-head record to 1-1.

It marked just the second time Paolini reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon after her runner-up finish in 2024, where she lost to the Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova in the finale.

Despite the loss, Eala made history for the Philippines as the first Filipina to reach the fourth round of a singles Grand Slam tournament.

Currently ranked No. 32 in the world, Eala started her campaign with a swift 6-1, 6-2 win over Mexico’s Renata Zarazua before she exacted revenge on Australia’s Maya Joint for her loss in their 2025 Eastbourne Open title duel with a gutsy 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 win in the round of 64.

Then in one of the biggest matches of her career, Eala sent 2025 titlist Swiatek packing by fashioning out a 7-6 (9), 6-2 upset in the round of 32.

If the live WTA rankings stand, Eala is projected to climb to a new career-high No. 28. – Rappler.com