Alex Eala’s bid for two straight titles got thwarted by Makenna Jones of the United States, 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, in the quarterfinal of the W25 Madrid women’s singles tournament at the Ciudad Raqueta in Spain last Saturday.
Eala, seeded third in the tournament, ended her winning streak at seven straight games as her fifth seed American foe pulled an upset after two hours and 43 minutes of action.
Prior to the match, the 18-year-old scholar of the Rafael Nadal Academy defeated American Jessica Fallia, 6-3, 7-6 (10-8), last Thursday in the Round of 32.
Then, Eala beat another American netter in Alana Smith, 6-4, 6-4, in the Round of 16 to face Jones in the quarterfinal.
Eala is using these tournaments to boost her Women’s Tennis Association ranking as she is currently at No. 266.
Her highest was at No. 214 last January but it slowly went down after a string of early exits.
She is also preparing for the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China from 23 September to 8 October.
Eala has won three singles tournaments in her professional career: The W15 Manacor in Spain in 2021, the W25 Chiang Rai in Thailand and the W25 Yecla in Spain last week.
