TENNIS

Eala destroys Stojsavljevic

Ivan Suing · Oct 27, 2026, 12:30 AM

ALEX Eala moves to the next round after beating British wild card Mika Stojsavljevic, 6-1, 6-2, on Monday in the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. — Photographs courtesy of WTA

Alex Eala blew away world No. 278 Mika Stojsavljevic of Great Britain, 6-1, 6-2, in the Toray Pan Pacific Open Round of 32 on Monday at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo.

The 21-year-old Filipina needed just 75 minutes to advance to the Round of 16 of the WTA 500 tournament.

In getting the job done, Eala stressed the importance of staying focused despite entering the match as the favorite, having experienced upsets against lower-ranked opponents earlier in the season.

She lost to world No. 123 Tatiana Prozorova of Russia at the Singapore Tennis Open and to world No. 162 Shi Han of China at the Wuhan Open.

“I think it's important to always stay focused. It was my first time playing against her, and she's a great young player. It was a great experience for me,” Eala said.

“I'm sure I'll play against her many times in the future, and I want to perform even better against her. First of all, I'm happy that I was able to win this first-round match.”

Eala dominated the opening set, racing to a 5-0 lead before Stojsavljevic held serve to avoid a shutout. The Filipina then held her own serve to close out the set.