Eala falls short vs Mboko

Alex Eala's campaign in the Hong Kong Tennis Open comes to an end after a heartbreaking 6-4, 3-6, 4-6 loss to world No. 21 and Canadian Open champion Victoria Mboko of Canada on Thursday (Manila time).

Eala, 20, fought hard for two hours and 27 minutes before losing to Mboko despite the support of the Filipino crowd.

This is Eala's final tournament of the season as she rests after competing in a string of tournaments in the past months.

She and Hao Ching Chan of Chinese Taipei lost in the women's doubles last Monday after a 6-3, 1-6, 7-10 loss to Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus and Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia in the Last 16.

The Rafael Nadal Academy graduate could enter the Top 50 of the Women's Tennis Association rankings in the coming weeks.