Alex Eala’s Roland Garros campaign came to an abrupt end on Tuesday.
Iva Jovic, the 17th seed in Paris, proved too strong for her Filipina peer, triumphing 6-4, 6-2 on Court 14.
Eala assessed her performance after the match, while also reflecting on how she felt playing one of her best friends on the WTA Tour.
Alex Eala is OUT of Roland Garros ❌ Where does she rank among the best young talents on the WTA Tour? 🤔
The result will certainly come as a disappointment to many: despite all the hype surrounding the 21-year-old, she has won only one Grand Slam main draw match in her career so far.
However, Eala must quickly put this disappointment behind her and begin preparations for the grass-court swing.
Alex Eala has the opportunity to be a seeded player at Wimbledon
Despite losing in the first round of Roland Garros, Eala is currently set to rise two places in the rankings to world number 35.
Consequently, Eala is close to re-entering the world’s top 32.
If Eala becomes one of the top-32 ranked players in the next month, she will almost guarantee herself a seeded position at Wimbledon.
Eala, who achieved a career-high ranking of world number 29 in March, has never been seeded at a Grand Slam event.
So, how many WTA points is Eala defending during the grass-court swing?
| Tournament | Result | Points |
| Birmingham | First round | 1 |
| Ilkley | Quarter-finals | 27 |
| Nottingham | Qualified for first round of main draw, then lost | 18 |
| Eastbourne | Runner-up | 163 |
| Wimbledon | First round | 10 |
Last year, Eala competed in the Birmingham Classic, a WTA 125k event in Ilkley, the Nottingham Open, Eastbourne Open and Wimbledon.
Eala earned 219 points across these events, including 10 at Wimbledon.
The most crucial period of Eala’s grass-court swing will be defending her points at the Eastbourne Open.
Last year, Eala reached the final, before losing to Maya Joint in heartbreaking fashion.
What next for Alex Eala?
Eala’s next event is expected to be the Birmingham Classic, which will take place from June 2 to 8.
From there, Eala is also expected to take part in the Queen’s Club Championships for the first time in her career.
However, as things stand, Eala will have to qualify for the main draw in London.
Is Alex Eala ‘overhyped and overrated’?
Some fans think so…
The Filipina is currently second in the rankings for Queen’s Club qualifying, behind only Spain’s Cristina Bucsa.
Of course, withdrawals ahead of the event could see Eala enter the main draw directly.
Tatjana Maria is the defending Queen’s Club champion.
The WTA veteran produced a remarkable set of performances on her way to last year’s title, beating Qinwen Zheng, Emma Raducanu, Amanda Anisimova and Elena Rybakina en route.
