Alex Eala has delivered a positive assessment of her performance in her defeat to Elena Rybakina at the 2026 Italian Open as she spoke about her progress on clay.
The Filipina was beaten 6-4, 6-3 by world No 2 Rybakina in the third round at the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome on Sunday.
It was Eala’s first-ever match against Rybakina — a 26-year-old Kazakh star who won her second Grand Slam title at the 2026 Australian Open.
Eala was making just her second appearance at the Italian Open after a first round exit on her debut last year.
The 20-year-old defeated Magdalena Frech 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 in the first round and Wang Xinyu 6-4, 6-3 in the second round at the Foro Italico.
After her campaign in Rome ended, Eala took to Instagram to write: “Rome heard me this time. Grazie mille!”
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Speaking to reporters following her loss to Rybakina, Eala said: “Yeah, I’m happy with my performance. I think I was able to reach a good level of tennis and I don’t think it was an easy win for her.
“So yeah, of course, things to work on and learnings from this match, but I think I’m in a good way.
“They were very competitive games, but I think that she has the capacity to win a couple more free points, and of course she’s much more experienced than I am.
“She’s the reigning Grand Slam champ; she won Australia and she’s been doing great since then. So I think the experience and many other factors helped her today.
“She hits a good ball, so it’s very difficult [to be aggressive]. I think, of course, sometimes being aggressive is really my game, but in the end, she (Rybakina) is two metres, so it’s difficult. But I think today, I did what I could.”
On her development as a player on clay, Eala added: “I think I moved well today and I took my chances when I needed to.
“I’m very happy because I do see the improvement on clay court, especially when you compare it to my experience here last year.
“I’m really happy with how I’ve been playing and the work I’ve been doing off competition with my team.”
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