MARTA KOSTYUK, the world No. 27 rated Ukrainian tennis player, dispatched Filipina tennis sensation Alex Eala with ease, 6-0, 6-1, in the Round of 128 of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.
It appears that the “Eala Magic” has worn off, and the 19-year-old Filipina tennis sensation is gradually being watched by her opponents, as Eala received what could have been a sweeping loss against Kostyuk.
Following the crushing loss, Eala will once again conclude a WTA 1000 tournament early. Now that her stay at the Italian Open is done, she will turn her attention to the next tournament she will be competing in.
Nowhere Near
During the opening ten minutes of the game, fans witnessed a game that might go either way, with the two tennis stars swapping points and frequently finding themselves in deuce points.
However, once Kostyuk broke Eala’s serve, she never looked back, cruising to an early 3-0 lead. It didn’t end there; the Ukrainian great broke her twice more, eventually winning the opening set 6-0.
The second set was quite similar, with Kostyuk winning her eighth consecutive game to take a 2-0 lead, followed by another break, her fifth in a row, to go up 3-0.
Eala was able to hold serve and put herself on the scoreboard at 1-4, a breath of fresh air that helped calm her anxieties as she drew shouts from the supporting Filipino crowd in Rome’s evening session.
However, it was too little, too late for the Filipina wonder, as Kostyuk maintained serve to lead 5-1 before breaking Eala again to win the match 6-1 in just over an hour.
Onto The Next
Meanwhile, before focusing on her first professional Grand Slam tournament at Roland Garros, Eala will play doubles with former US Open winner and World No. 3 Coco Gauff at the Italian Open.
They will meet Alexandra Panova of Russia and Fanny Stollár of Hungary in the Round of 32. Another milestone for Eala, whose prominence has slowly increased since her historic run at the Miami Open in late March.
The WTA currently ranks her as the world’s 70th best player. Eala has also had significant success in doubles at the junior level, winning the 2020 Australian Open and the 2021 French Open.
Gauff, 21, is a former world No. 1 in doubles, having won the 2024 French Open with Czech Republic’s Kateřina Siniaková. Gauff is seeded fourth in the Italian Open singles draw and has got a bye to the second round, where she will face Canada’s Victoria Mboko.
