Eala’s Australian Open hopes fall apart

Alex Eala’s hopes of making it to the main draw of the Australian Open have been dashed Tuesday after absorbing a 5-7, 2-6 loss against Jana Fett of Croatia in the first qualifying round.

Eala, 19, fought for one hour and 59 minutes before losing to the world’s No. 134 netter in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings.

This is the third time the Rafael Nadal Academy has been eliminated from the qualifiers for the first Grand Slam of the year.

Eala, who is four spots below her tormentor, lost to Misaki Doi of Japan, 6-4, 6-7, 3-6, in the first qualifying round in 2023 and suffered the same fate in 2024 after a 2-6, 5-7 defeat against Rebecca Peterson of Sweden.

In 2024, Eala almost made it to a Grand Slam three times.

In the third qualifying round, she lost to Julia Riera of Argentina, 6-4, 6-7, 4-6, in the French Open, lost to Lulu Sun of New Zealand, 6-7, 6-7, and suffered a 6-3. 1-6, 4-6 loss to Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania in the US Open.

Still, Eala remains committed to making it into the main draw of a Grand Slam despite the setback.

“Well, the number one is to qualify for a Grand Slam main draw. In the past three Grand Slams, I’ve been so close, but it hasn’t happened yet,” Eala said.

“I think one of the biggest takeaways is not to rush and not to feel pressured. Sometimes I think that after a loss, I think ‘I’m working so hard so why am I not seeing the results that I want’ but I have to remember that everyone else is working the same amount if not more.”