Alex Eala exited early in the 2025 Australian Open after bowing in her first qualifying round assignment on Tuesday, Jan. 7, in Melbourne.

The world No. 138 Eala fought back against the hard-serving Jana Fett of Croatia but still fell short to absorb a 7-5, 6-2 defeat in a match that lasted one hour and 59 minutes.

The 19-year-old Filipina tennis ace started out strong with a 2-0 lead, but Fett, who ranked four rungs higher and has had multiple Grand Slam appearances since 2017, stepped on the gas by winning the next five games to seize the 5-2 upperhand.

Eala retaliated by breaking Fett’s serve twice to claim the next three games and tie the match at 5-all, before the Croatian regained her composure and won the 11^th and 12^th game for the set win.

Fett kept her momentum in the second frame by blitzing to a 4-0 lead before Eala finally found her groove back and held her serve in the fifth game.

The Filipina also needed two deuces to break Fett’s serve in the sixth game to still trail at 4-2, but it proved to be her last stand.

A victory for Eala could have arranged her a second-round qualifying meeting with Austrian Sinja Kraus, who routed Viktoria Hruncakova of Slovakia, 6-1, 6-2.

This was Eala’s second tournament for the season, having finished in the semifinals of the Workday Canberra International WTA event also in Australia last week.