Alex Eala couldn't sustain her fine form on clay after falling to Hungary’s Panna Udvardy in the Round of 16 of the Oeiras Ladies Open.
Top seed Alex Eala’s run in the 2025 Oeiras Ladies Open in Portugal came to a halt after falling to Hungary’s Panna Udvardy, 7-6 (4), 6-4, on Thursday, April 17.
Eala, now ranked a career-best 73rd in the world, struggled against Udvardy’s fast serve as shown by the world no. 137’s six aces. The Filipina tennis star failed to score an ace in the match.
Udvardy’s dominance in the serve also showed in her 72% win percentage on 1st serve.
In the second set, Eala had a 3-1 lead but couldn’t keep up against Udvardy as the Hungarian went on to retake the lead at 4-3, before closing the game out.
It’s worth noting that the 19-year-old Eala received treatment on her left hand during the match.
The Oeiras Ladies Open is Eala’s first clay-court event of the year, and part of her build-up to her Grand Slam main draw debut at Roland Garros, where she was recently included in the women’s singles entry list.
The next WTA 1000 event, the Madrid Open next week could be on the horizon as well for Eala. While she may have missed the direct entry list, there is still a chance she could enter as a wildcard just like last year.
Eala will also look towards her first-ever Grand Slam main draw appearance as a pro in the French Open set from May 19 to June 8.