Eala, partner fall short in France tilt

Alex Eala and Indonesian Jessy Rompies made an early exit in the W60 Nantes International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament after yielding to their fellow unseeded rivals on Monday, Oct. 30, in France.

Eala and Rompies lost their steam in the last two sets and succumbed to Russians Ekaterina Maklakova and Ekaterina Reyngold, 1-6, 6-3, 10-6, in the opening round of the $60,000 event.

The loss halted their chance to march into the quarterfinals and face second seeds Emily Appleton of Great Britain and Isabelle Haverlag of the Netherlands, who earned an opening round bye.

Meanwhile, the 18-year-old Eala still had a shot in the singles as she is slated to battle wildcard bet Amandine Hesse of France.

This would be the first time that Eala is facing Hesse in an ITF event, but the Filipina teen sensation boasts of a higher ranking at No. 193 compared to her 30-year-old rival’s 389.

Hesse has six singles titles tucked under her belt, but has yet to win another one since her last triumph in the W25 Saint Palais sur mer in 2021.

Eala, for her part, is looking at her fifth singles crown since winning the W25 Roehampton in Great Britain last August.

She is also coming off from last month’s stint at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China where she won two bronze medals. — Kristel Satumbaga-Villar