By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
After some pleasant news, here’s a bad news for fans of Alex Eala.
A day after her world ranking improved to No. 30, Eala suffered a heartbreaking 3-6, 3-6 loss to German ace Elise Mertens in the opener of the 2026 Bad Homburg Open early Tuesday, June 23 (Philippine time).
Coming off a semifinal stint at the Berlin Open less than two days ago, the 21-year-old Eala simply couldn’t find her fiery form against her more seasoned rival to yield after one hour and 24 minutes.
Overall, the Filipina dropped her serve four times while breaking Mertens only once despite racing to an early 3-1 lead in the opening set.
This was Eala’s third defeat to the world No. 26 Belgian, with her previous losses coming in the 2023 ITF Monastir and the Mutua Madrid Open last April.
Eala is still in contention in the doubles, though, with her highly-anticipated pairing with Venus Williams slated to debut on Wednesday, June 24, against Alexandra Osborne and Catherine Harrison.
Incidentally, Williams also lost her opening singles match a few hours before Eala’s, bowing to Irina-Camelia Begu, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (6).
