Alex Eala defeated Emerson Jones, 6-4, 6-3, in the first round of the Hong Kong Open.
The 21-year-old was pegged back from 5-1 to 5-3 in the second set, but maintained her composure to see out the win, booking her place in the next round, where she will face Czechia's Tereza Valentova.
After Eala beat Jones , she was asked to assess her 2026 campaign, as a reporter noted that some have claimed she's seemed tired over recent weeks and months.
"My year has been amazing! It's been incredible. I don't want to get too into it yet; I feel like if I get too into it, I will become quite emotional because of the year I've had, but you know, I'm still in the tournament, and I'm still motivated to go as far as I can here. But my year has been absolutely just incredible. I'm so grateful for everything I've been through," said Eala during her post-match press conference.
"I guess maybe that's the opinion of some, like you said. But I hit my career high this week, guys! If I'm tired and 17 in the world, that's great. Being tired is a blessing as well. Being tired means I've been working hard, having lots of matches, competing a lot, and healthy enough to work, and in a healthy mindset to put myself in these situations of pressure. I think I'm doing great."
Eala is up to 17th in the 'Live WTA Rankings', a career-high. She could yet finish the season inside the top 15, provided she wins the Hong Kong Open and Sorana Cirstea suffers an early exit.
15. Sorana Cirstea – 2,386 points
16. Naomi Osaka – 2,315 points
17. Alex Eala – 2,289 points
18. Leylah Fernandez – 2,201 points
19. Belinda Bencic – 2,168 points
The Filipina has won two titles this year, including her first at the WTA Tour level. An overall 46-26 singles record is mightily impressive, but is there any truth behind claims that she looks tired?
| Tournament |
Tier |
Performance |
Match wins |
Defeat |
| ASB Classic |
WTA 250 |
Semi-final |
3 (Donna Vekic, Petra Marcinko, Magda Linette) |
Wang Xinyu |
| Australian Open |
Grand Slam |
First round |
0 |
Alycia Parks |
| Philippine Women's Open |
WTA 125 |
Quarter-final |
2 (Alina Charaeva, Himeno Sakatsume) |
Camila Osorio |
| Abu Dhabi Open |
WTA 500 |
Quarter-final |
2 (Zeynep Sonmez, Aliaksandra Sasnovich) |
Ekaterina Alexandrova |
| Qatar Open |
WTA 1000 |
First round |
0 |
Tereza Valentova |
| Dubai Tennis Championships |
WTA 1000 |
Quarter-final |
3 (Hailey Baptiste, Jasmine Paolini, Sorana Cirstea) |
Coco Gauff |
| Indian Wells |
WTA 1000 |
Fourth round |
2 (Dayana Yastremska, Coco Gauff) |
Linda Noskova |
| Miami Open |
WTA 1000 |
Fourth round |
2 (Laura Siegemund, Magda Linette) |
Karolina Muchova |
| Linz Open |
WTA 500 |
Second round |
1 (Julia Grabher) |
Jelena Ostapenko |
| Stuttgart Open |
WTA 500 |
First round |
0 |
Leylah Fernandez |
| Madrid Open |
WTA 1000 |
Second round |
1 (Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova) |
Elise Mertens |
| Italian Open |
WTA 1000 |
Third round |
2 (Magdalena Frech, Wang Xinyu) |
Elena Rybakina |
| Internationaux de Strasbourg |
WTA 500 |
First round |
0 |
Oleksandra Oliynykova |
| French Open |
Grand Slam |
First round |
0 |
Iva Jovic |
| Birmingham Open |
WTA 125 |
Champion |
5 (Priscilla Hon, Alina Charaeva, Mananchaya Sawangkaew, Rebeka Masarova, Nikola Bartunkova) |
– |
| Queen's Club Championships |
WTA 500 |
Second round |
1 (Zhang Shuai) |
Iva Jovic |
| Berlin Open |
WTA 500 |
Semi-final |
3 (Donna Vekic, Elena Rybakina, Elina Svitolina) |
Linda Noskova |
| Bad Homburg Open |
WTA 500 |
First round |
0 |
Elise Mertens |
| Wimbledon |
Grand Slam |
Fourth round |
3 (Renata Zarazua, Maya Joint, Iga Swiatek) |
Jasmine Paolini |
| Washington Open |
WTA 500 |
Champion |
5 (Qinwen Zheng, Leylah Fernandez, Elina Svitolina, Naomi Osaka, Jessica Pegula) |
– |
| Canadian Open |
WTA 1000 |
Fourth round |
2 (Alycia Parks, Caty McNally) |
Belinda Bencic |
| Cincinnati Open |
WTA 1000 |
Third round |
1 (Elena-Gabriela Ruse) |
Amanda Anisimova |
| US Open |
Grand Slam |
Third round |
2 (Mary Stoiana, Oleksandra Oliynykova) |
Iva Jovic |
| Singapore Tennis Open |
WTA 500 |
Second round |
0 |
Tatiana Prozorova |
| Asian Games |
– |
Semi-final |
2 (Patcharin Cheapchandej, Joanna Garland) |
Wang Xiyu |
| Wuhan Open |
WTA 1000 |
First round |
0 |
Shi Han |
| Ningbo Open |
WTA 500 |
Second round |
1 (Diane Parry) |
Diana Shnaider |
| Japan Open |
WTA 500 |
Quarter-final |
2 (Mika Stojsavljevic, Talia Gibson) |
Diana Shnaider |
| Hong Kong Open* |
WTA 250 |
Second round |
1 (Emerson Jones) |
– |
Alex Eala's 2026 record
Since the US Open, Eala has suffered several shocking defeats that have concerned her fans. She failed to win a match in Singapore and Wuhan, won only one in Ningbo, China, and missed out on the gold medal at the Asian Games.
Whether those defeats can be solely attributed to fatigue is a question only she can answer, and she did just that in her press conference when asked about the taping on her knee.
"Yeah, I'm feeling good. I think it's the end of the year, so nothing out of the ordinary. I'm healthy, I'm happy, so super blessed. Yes, [my knee is ok]," said Eala.
Eala is healthy and ready to go for her next match against an old foe. The Filipina is 0-2 against Valentova, having lost to the Czech at the 2025 Japan Women's Open and the 2026 Qatar Open.
"I think we've had, well, I've had very tough matches against her in the past. I think she's proven to be a really good player, not just against me, but she's played really well," said Eala when asked about her record against Valentova.
"It should be a good challenge for me, like every match. All I can do is do my best to prepare, and when I'm out there, fight with everything I have."
Eala will play Valentova in the second round of the Hong Kong Open on Thursday, November 5. If she wins, Eala will advance to meet Xinyu Wang, Antonia Ruzic, or Alina Charaeva in the quarter-finals.
