At A Glance
- Alex Eala concluded her WTA 1000 Italian Open stint after the Filipina tennis ace and her American partner Hailey Baptiste absorbed a 2-6, 1-6 defeat to Grand Slam doubles champions Kateřina Siniaková of Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of USA in their first-round doubles showdown in Rome on Tuesday, May 12.
Philippines' Alexandra Eala returns the ball to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina, during their match at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Alex Eala concluded her WTA 1000 Italian Open stint after the Filipina tennis ace and her American partner Hailey Baptiste absorbed a 2-6, 1-6 defeat to Grand Slam doubles champions Kateřina Siniaková of Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of USA in their first-round doubles showdown in Rome on Tuesday, May 12.
Eala and Baptiste were overpowered by the No. 2 seed duo Siniaková and Townsend as the Filipino-American pair was simply outclassed in their encounter.
Siniaková and Townsend, one of the strongest duos in the circuit with their recent title wins in Indian Wells, Miami Open, and Madrid Open, set up a Round of 16 duel against Sorana Cirstea and Jaqueline Cristian of Romania.
Eala reached the third round of the singles event where she gave world No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan a good fight before slipping to a 4-6, 3-6 loss.
The 5-foot-9 lefty also exacted her revenge over Chinese Xinyu Wang, 6-4, 6-3, in Round of 64, which came after her 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 win against Magdalena Frech of Poland.