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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Alex Eala yields to world No. 14 Noskova in Round of 16 at Indian Wells

Alex Eala yields to world No. 14 Noskova in Round of 16 at Indian Wells

Published Mar 11, 2026 12:55 pm

At A Glance

  • The 31st-seeded Eala fought hard but struggled to keep pace with the powerful serves of her more experienced opponent, ultimately bowing out of contention in the prestigious WTA1000 event.
Alex Eala loses to Linda Noskova in Round of 16 of the BNP Paribas Open. (File Photo/AP)
Alex Eala loses to Linda Noskova in Round of 16 of the BNP Paribas Open. (File Photo/AP)
Alex Eala’s campaign at the BNP Paribas Open came to an end on Wednesday, March 11 (Philippine time) after succumbing to world No. 14 Linda Noskova, 2-6, 0-6, in the Round of 16 at the Stadium 1 in Indian Wells, United States.
The 31st-seeded Eala fought hard but struggled to keep pace with the powerful serves of her more experienced opponent, ultimately bowing out of contention in the prestigious WTA1000 event.
A victory for the Filipina could have arranged her a quarterfinal berth with a familiar opponent in Talia Gibson, who earlier pulled off 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 upset win over seventh seed Jasmine Paolini.
Noskova imposed her will early by breaking Eala’s serve in the opening game, before pulling away to a 3-1 lead.
Eala held her serve in the fifth game to trim the deficit at 2-3, but Noskova was quick to regroup, winning the next three games including a break on the Filipina’s serve in the seventh game.
The 2024 Australian Open quarterfinalist, wasted no time asserting her dominance over Eala and took full control of the second set.
Despite the defeat, Eala is still expected to improve on her current world No. 32 ranking by the end of the week.
As of press time, Eala has climbed to a career-high No. 28 in the live rankings, although the official rankings are finalized every Monday once tournaments on the tour calendar are completed.
Her Round of 16 stint also earned her $105,720 (around P6.2 million).
It was still an impressive run for Eala in her debut appearance in the tournament, earning a first-round bye before beating Dayana Yastremska, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, and fourth seed Coco Gauff, 6-2, 2-0 (ret).
She and Iva Jovic also competed in the doubles, but lost in the opening round to veterans Jelena Ostapenko and Hailey Baptiste, 6-2, 6-2.
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