Noli Eala, 'disappointed' but still believes in Alex

Alex Eala’s uncle and former Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) commissioner Noli Eala expressed disappointment over her 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 loss to China’s Shi Han in the Wuhan Open Round of 64 on Monday, October 12.

“Very disappointing loss,” Noli wrote on X.

Despite the defeat, Noli praised Shi, the world No. 217, for her impressive performance against the world No. 19 Filipina, commending the Chinese player’s composure.

“Magnificent performance by No. 217 Shi Han vs. No. 19 Alex Eala in Wuhan. The 21-year-old Chinese qualifier had winner after winner. Terrific composure,” he said.

Shi Han, who came through the qualifying rounds, stunned the Filipina tennis star.

Eala took the opening set, 6-4, before Shi regained momentum to win the second set, 6-3.

Shi carried that momentum into the deciding set, building a 4-1 lead before holding off Eala’s attempted comeback to seal the 6-3 victory.

Noli urged his niece to regroup, saying she still has time to work things out with her team.

“Lots of time to figure this out. I’m certainly not losing hope because I know Alex is a fighter. Laban,” Noli said.

Eala will still have a shot at the tournament as she returns to action in the women’s doubles event on Tuesday, teaming up with Turkish player Zeynep Sönmez.