Alex Eala's campaign in the Hong Kong Tennis Open had a bumpy start after she and Hao Ching Chan of Chinese Taipei lost to Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus and Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia, 6-3, 1-6, 7-10, in the Round of 16 at Victoria Park in Hong Kong on Monday (Manila time).

Eala and Chan fought valiantly for one hour and 27 minutes but to no avail as they suffered an early exit in this Women's Tennis Association (WTA) 250 tournament.

The 20-year-old Rafael Nadal Academy recently rose up to the WTA rankings as she reached a new career-best No. 51.

Eala will now focus on her singles campaign as she faces Katie Boulter of Great Britain on Tuesday at 7:40 p.m. at the same venue.