Filipina tennis star Alex Eala was sent packing early anew, this time, in the WTA 500 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix after suffering a 1-6, 4-6, loss to world no. 25 Leylah Fernandez Wednesday morning (Manila time).

Eala struggled to match the firepower of her fellow Filipina and left-hander opponent who plays for Canada.

Fernandez imposed her will from the get go, leading by 5-0 in the first set, but Eala being Eala, fought back to get herself a game.

The world no. 45 then tried to mount a comeback in the second set after trailing 2-3 and eventually made it to 4-5, but Fernandez erased a 0-30 deficit that sent her to the next round.

Fernandez also shared that playing against Eala would be like playing against a mirror due to their similarities.

“Oh man, 100%. I mean, I remember watching her play a couple years back at the Rafa Nadal Academy and she was playing super fast. And I remember telling my coach at the time saying like, wow, she plays quick,” she said.

Fernandez would be playing against Zeynep Sonmez or Jasmine Paolini.

The 20-year-old Eala also had an early exit in her 2026 clay season opener in the Linz Open, after her round-of-16 loss against Jelena Ostapenko.

Eala's next assignment is the WTA 1000 Mutua Madrid Open, which will run from 20 April to 3 May 2026, marking her third tournament in the clay season.