Alex Eala suffered a heartbreaking 6-3, 6-7 (8), 6-4 loss to Sorana Cirstea of Romania in the Round of 64 of the Madrid Open women’s singles at the Arantxa Sanchez Stadium in Madrid last Friday.

Eala, 18, stood her ground against the No. 30 Romanian netter in their two-hour and

17-minute encounter but eventually fell short in the tournament.

The 34-year-old Cirstea will face the sport’s No. 1 female netter Iga Swiatek of Poland in the Round of 32.

Swiatek made quick work of Wang Xiyu of China, 6-1, 6-4, in their match last Friday as she guns for her 20th career title.

Despite her exit, Eala still made heads turn as she pulled off a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 upset over No. 41 Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine last Tuesday in the Round of 128.

This win will certainly give her a boost in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings as she is currently at No. 170.

Her highest WTA rank was No. 169 back on 15 April.

Eala is also boosting her rankings to make the main draw of this year’s French Open starting 20 May.

Still, the Rafael Nadal Academy insists she has to continue ramping up her game as she likewise aims to become a role model for future Filipino athletes.

“I think the Filipinos they’re very hungry to see other Filipinos excel, and I’m also like that. When other athletes and other Filipinos excel, we get very excited, because you don’t see it very often and I’m really happy to bring that pride and to be able to be a part of that,” Eala said.