By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Negrense Alex Eala’s campaign in the Italian Open came to an end after absorbing a 6-4, 6-3 loss to World’s No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the Round of 32 at the BNP Paribas Arena in Rome on Sunday night, May 10 (Philippine time).

The 20-year-old Negrense fought hard against the former Wimbledon champion but struggled to match Rybakina’s powerful serve and aggressive returns throughout the one-hour, 17-minute contest.

Rybakina fired six aces and did not commit a single double fault, while Eala had one ace and five double faults.

Despite the loss, Eala showed flashes of solid play, posting a better second-serve win percentage at 55 percent compared to Rybakina’s 45 percent.

However, the Kazakh star dominated on first serve, winning 73 percent of those points against Eala’s 57 percent.

Rybakina also converted four of her seven break-point opportunities, while Eala managed to cash in on her lone break chance.

The Kazakh finished with 69 total points against Eala’s 60 and won 12 games overall compared to the Filipina’s seven.

Eala entered the third-round clash coming off an impressive straight-sets victory over China’s Wang Xinyu, which allowed her to climb in the live Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings.

The Rome stint adds another strong showing to Eala’s breakthrough 2026 campaign as she continues to compete against some of the top-ranked players on the WTA Tour./ASC, WDJ