Alex Eala ended a losing streak with a dominant first round victory at the 2026 Ningbo Open, and she is projected to move up in the WTA Rankings.
The Filipina star defeated world No 34 Diane Parry 6-3, 6-1 on the opening day of the WTA 500 tournament in Ningbo on Monday.
After Parry held in her first two service games, Eala broke the 24-year-old Frenchwoman six consecutive times — three times in each set — as she surged to the finish line.
Eala was broken just twice and won 56 of the 91 points in a one-sided contest.
The 21-year-old had lost her previous three matches: opening round defeats in Wuhan and Singapore and a semi-final loss at the Asian Games.
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Eala began the Ningbo Open as the world No 20 — two places below her career-high ranking of 18th.
In her pre-tournament press conference, Eala said: “I am super excited.
“I think things have changed quite a bit since I was here last time, for the better. And yeah, I’m really excited!
“Well, I think it adds to the motivation, for sure. And, you know, it’s a learning process. It’s a learning process.
“I’m thankfully experiencing so many new things, so as I experience, of course I learn and try to be a better player, try to be a better person, and yeah, like I said, take it step by step.
“I think when I’m able to focus on my work, especially on court, and that I’m able to compartmentalise and really prioritise what needs to be on top.”
