Filipino tennis sensation Alex Eala falls short in historic Eastbourne final

Alex Eala forced a smile through her tears, waving to an appreciative crowd. She had the Eastbourne Open final in her grasp but wasted four championship points and stumbled to Maya Joint 4-6, 6-1, 6(10)-7 in a dramatic, nerve-wracking final.

The weight of the moment got to her. Having made history as the first Filipina to reach a WTA final, Eala would have become the first woman from the Philippines to secure a title. But she slipped.

Fighting back tears as she accepted the runner-up trophy, Eala said: “It’s my first WTA final. It’s a big deal for me and for my country because it’s historic. It’s the first time any Filipina has done anything like this,” said the 20-year-old. “I guess that’s also why I’m so emotional.”

Despite a shaky start, Eala showed immense resilience. After dropping the first set, she stormed through the second, levelling the match. The final set went down to a super tiebreak, where Eala led 9-6 and had four chances to close it out. But Joint, calm under pressure, clawed back and sealed victory with her second match point.

Giant-killing run in Eastbourne

Eala’s run to the final was nothing short of remarkable. She came through qualifying, beating Turkey’s Zeynep Sönmez and American Hailey Baptiste, before toppling a series of higher-ranked opponents — including world No. 61 Lucia Bronzetti, 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko (via retirement), 42nd-ranked Dayana Yastremska, and No. 111 Varvara Gracheva, whom she had also beaten in Nottingham just days earlier.

In her on-court speech, Eala was gracious in defeat. “I want to congratulate Maya for a great match and a great tournament,” she said. “If I were to lose to anyone this week, it would definitely be you.”

Joint, 19, captured her second career title — the first coming just last month on the clay courts of Rabat. This Eastbourne final marked the youngest combined age for a title match at the tournament since 1981.

Though she fell just short of lifting the trophy, Eala’s inspiring performance has firmly established her as a rising star on the WTA Tour. Her historic run is a proud moment for Philippine tennis.