Alexandra Eala was stunned in the Japan Open first round on Tuesday, comprehensively beaten by her 18-year-old opponent.
Eala, 20, failed to capitalise on her break-point opportunities as she fell to a 6-1, 6-2 loss against French Open junior champion Tereza Valentova.
The Filipino star recently won her first WTA title at the Guadalajara Open, a result which earned praise from Rafael Nadal.
However, since that triumph, Eala has struggled for form at the WTA Tour’s biggest events.
Eala was thoroughly dismantled by Valentova on Tuesday, and will want to put this result behind her quickly.
Alexandra Eala’s recent Challenger Tour experiences have not translated to the big stage
After losing in the US Open second round to Cristina Bucsa, Alexandra Eala competed in a number of Challenger Tour events.
The Challenger Tour sits one tier below the WTA Tour, offering lower-ranked players an opportunity to improve their WTA points totals.
The Filipino has competed in Challenger events in Guadalajara, Jingshan and Suzhou, possibly using these smaller tournaments as a means to improve her serve. She also competed in the WTA 250 event in Sao Paulo, instead of the WTA 500 event in Guadalajara.
The decision to compete in these smaller events appears to have backfired, as she was left exposed during her first-round match in Japan.
The 20-year-old failed to qualify for the Wuhan Open, losing to Moyuka Uchijima at the first hurdle, and has now been demolished by a qualifier ranked 24 places below her in the rankings.
Eala’s serve is criticised
During the coverage on Sky Sports, the commentator noted Eala’s glaring weakness – her serve.
He said: “It has been fine margins when you break it down.
“I stand by what I said earlier. If Eala had the service of Valentova, if Eala had the service game of Valentova, she would be in a much better position.”
As per Sofascore, Eala landed 67 per cent of her first serves, winning 51 per cent of those points. She also won only 28 per cent of her second serve points.
![Tereza Valentova vs. Alexandra Eala statistics [Japan Open 2025 - Osaka].](https://cdn1.tennishead.net/uploads/106/2025/10/valentova_eala-min-863x1024.jpg)
Comparatively, Valentova made 66 per cent of her first serves, won 64 per cent of her first-serve points and 44 per cent of her second-serve points.
