Alex Eala returned to winning ways at the Ningbo Open, as she defeated Diane Parry in straight sets to confirm her place in the second round of the tournament.

Prior to her victory in Ningbo, Eala was enduring an Asian swing to forget, however, as she suffered early exits in Singapore and Wuhan, as well as failing to win the gold medal for the Philippines at the 2026 Asian Games.

Eala’s first true rough patch on the WTA Tour came after her most fruitful spell in the summer, as she won her first title at the Washington Open and reached the semifinals of the Berlin Open and the fourth round of Wimbledon.

The Filipina star has come under attack in certain circles due to her performances in Asia, which has been called out by fellow Filipino athlete Ernest Obiana.

Alex Eala’s Asian swing so far

- Tatiana Prozorova – L

- Patcharin Cheapchandej – W

- Joanna Garland – W

- Wang Xiyu – L

- Han Shi – L

- Diane Parry – W

In an Instagram post, the pole vaulter said: “Athletes may sometimes be treated like gods. But we are not. We have good days and bad days, just like everyone else. One result cannot define a person. Support matters.

“If you want to help Alex, me, or any athlete, pick us up when we are down. Harsh comments are not the support that helps us return stronger. Failure is not synonymous with losing. Even the greats lose.

“A bad competition, a losing streak, even a difficult season: sooner or later every athlete faces them. “Perfection can be the objective, but nobody wins everything.

“So asking if Alex’s string of losses suggests she has failed is the wrong question (or for any national athlete for that matter, yours truly included).

“There is no such thing as failure in attempting, and in sports, there are good days and bad days, and some days you win and some days you lose, which is what gives sport its beauty and toughness.”

More Alex Eala news

Eala will look to continue a winning run at the Ningbo Open, although she has been given a very tough draw at the WTA 500 tournament.

She will await the winner of Yulia Puntinseva and Diana Shnaider in the second round, with a likely match against Iva Jovic in round three if she picks up another win.

Eala has lost all three of her matches against Jovic so far in her career, so the American will be a very tough third round opponent.

The star could also play Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek should she have a deep run at the Chinese tournament. The event runs until the 25th October.