Alex Eala failed to sustain her hot start as she succumbed to her Japanese rival in the second qualifying round of the Rothesay Open Nottingham Tennis Tournament in Great Britain on Sunday, June 9.

The 19-year-old Eala couldn’t find her momentum after a tight opening set to yield to Ena Shibahara, 6-7 (5), 6-0, 6-2, in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 250 event.

A victory for Eala could have earned her a main draw berth composed of three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, 2024 Australian Open quarterfinalist Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, and world No. 30 Katie Boulter of Great Britain, to name a few.

Meanwhile, Eala slipped 12 rungs from a career-high No. 157 to No. 169 in this week’s WTA singles rankings.

Prior to her first tournament in the grass season, she competed in the French Open qualifying where she came up one win short of booking a main draw ticket. She also finished in the first round of Makarska Open, a WTA125 tournament, in Croatia last week.