Alex Eala couldn't quite catch a break at the 2026 Australian Open, ending her stint in season's first Grand Slam with a doubles loss in the opening round.
Alex Eala and Brazilian partner Ingrid Martins were unable to swing their momentum forward, falling to Magda Linette and Shuko Aoyama, 6(3)-7, 6-2, 3-6, in the first round of the 2026 Australian Open doubles on Tuesday.
Eala dropped out of the Australian Open entirely with this loss, marking a forgettable debut in the first Grand Slam of the year. The Filipina suffered an equally-frustrating three set loss in singles play on Monday.
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Eala and Martins were actually the ones to start strong, zooming to a 4-0 start in the opening set but couldn't quite close things out.
Eala’s serve was broken by Linette and Aoyama in Game 12 to force the tiebreak, where a 2-5 lead deficit proved to be too much to overcome for the Filipino-Brazilian pair.
Despite the frustrating loss in their first set, Eala and Martins were able to rebound in the second stanza, zooming to a 4-1 run.
There weren’t meltdowns this time around, as Martins and Eala won a 6-2 set for a strong response.
But exhaustion seemed to disrupt Eala and Martins’ flow as both needed to tend to some nagging pains, with the Filipina also needing a medical timeout before the third set began.
Their fitness issues proved too much as they quickly fell behind 0-4 in the decider.
Despite their comeback attempt, including breaking Linette and Aoyama’s serve in Game 6, Eala and Martins didn’t quite have enough to move on.
[RELATED: What’s next for Alex Eala after Australian Open?]
Now, Eala faces a crossroads for her next singles joust.
The Filipina ace has a wild card for the Philippine Women’s Open, the Philippines’ first-ever WTA 125 event.
However, Eala is also listed in the qualifying draw of the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open, which will overlap with the final stages of the Philippine Women’s Open.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.