To begin the Round of 32 play of the Japan Open 2025, Alex Eala bowed out of the tournament against her Czech foe, Tereza Valentova, on October 14, 2025.
Domination from Start to Finish
Right from the get-go, the 20-year-old tennis legend from the Philippines had no answer against the 18-year-old from the Czech Republic as Alex got dominated in 2 straight sets.
To begin the match, the heavily favored Czech rising star came out firing and immediately seized control of the first set. Valentová broke Eala twice early on, racing to a 4-0 lead as the Filipina struggled to find her rhythm.
Eala managed to claim one game midway through the set, but the world No. 78 quickly closed out the frame, breaking once more to secure the Set 1 win in just 39 minutes.
FINAL SCORE OF SET 1: 6 – 1
The momentum firmly remained with the 18-year-old Czech as the second set began. Valentová once again dictated the pace with powerful groundstrokes and precise returns, taking the first three games to put Eala on the defensive.
The No. 54 Filipina fought back and managed to win two of the next three, but her opponent’s consistency proved too much to overcome. Valentová closed out the match decisively, winning the final two games to seal the victory and move on to the Round of 16, where she is set to face either Elise Mertens or Cristina Bucsa.
FINAL SCORE OF SET 2: 6 – 2
Up Next: 6 Days of Rest Until Guangzhou Open in China
The Asian tour for Alex has not allowed her to reach the Finals, considering that in the last Wuhan Open, she got defeated in the Round 1 of Qualifiers.
And now, after another early exit, Alex will try to focus on the next tournament as she goes back to China for the WTA 250 Guangzhou Open come October 20 – 26.
Falling Short on the Asian Tour?
It appears that Alex, despite being at her highest ranked of her professional career, has struggled in all of her Asian stint at the latter part of the year.
The idea that “fatigue” could be a factor should be out of the picture since there is a one-week gap between the Wuhan Qualifiers Open and the Japan Open.
So what could be bothering the Filiprima as she suffers early exits?
An “unpopular opinion” could be that she’s not playing against the best, which is why she’s not playing at her best.
It’s been quite some time since we have seen her participate in a WTA 500 or WTA 1000 tournament, where the competition is definitely at an elite level. But there’s also nothing wrong with participating in lower-ranked WTA 250 games if the main goal is to claim “easy wins.”
We’ve also not seen Alex play in a Women’s Doubles tournament; it’s been months since she last played in one.
Although draining and exhausting, the training might be playing in both Singles and Doubles tournaments; there could also be a lot more learning if she could play with and against better athletes in order to improve.
But looking at the next 2 tournaments Eala will be part of, which are both WTA 250, fans can only hope that she can regain her “championship form” just like she did in Guadalajara.
