Eala avenges past defeat to storm into quarters

Under the evening haze at Rizal Memorial Tennis Center, Filipina tennis sensation Alex Eala stared down a ghost from 2023. Japan’s Himeno Sakatsume had once dismantled her 6-0, 6-3 at the WTA 250 Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, but on Wednesday in the second round of the inaugural Philippine Women’s Open, Eala flipped the script with a 6-4, 6-0 win. The hard courts here, medium-paced and grippy, suited her heavy topspin, letting her build depth that pinned Sakatsume back from the start.

Just like with her first-round opponent Alina Charaeva, this clash carried the weight of redemption, the Manila crowd’s energy amplifying every rally. Eala’s season has been a grind of expectations, her world ranking now making her the tournament’s top seed after Tatjana Maria‘s upset exit. As the points ticked by, the psychological edge sharpened, Eala channeling home-soil pressure into focused aggression.

First set hinges on stubborn holds

Sakatsume traded blows early, both women holding through the first four games with solid first-strike tennis that kept returns at bay. At 3-3, breaks swapped in the fifth and sixth, Eala‘s crosscourt forehands probing for cracks while Sakatsume’s flat backhands fired back down-the-line. The deadlock at 4-4 stretched nerves, the humid air thick with the crowd’s murmurs, but neither yielded ground easily.

Eala’s serve held firm, her efficiency converting 67% of first-serve points and 65% on seconds, edging out Sakatsume’s three aces to one. In the ninth, she broke with weighted groundstrokes, a deep backhand forcing an error that swung momentum. She consolidated quickly, mixing slice seconds with inside-in forehands to claim the set and set the tone for what followed.

Second set surges with early breaks

Eala took a medical timeout before the second, echoing her opener, but it only fueled her rhythm from the first set’s close. She broke twice in the opening three games, sharp returns jamming Sakatsume’s serve and opening the court for one–two combinations. The Japanese player scrambled, her aces landing flat against Eala’s proactive baseline game.

Control deepened as Eala added another break midway, her depth preventing any counterpunches on the hard courts that rewarded patience. The bagel came emphatically, a mental reset that buried the 2023 memory under roaring approval from the stands. With Sakatsume unable to dictate, Eala’s adjustments turned the match into a showcase of her growth.

Quarterfinal eyes Colombia’s defender

Now the highest-ranked player left, Eala faces 84th-ranked Camila Osorio of Colombia on Thursday, a clay-court specialist whose defense could extend rallies. The Philippine Women’s Open’s surface plays to Eala’s power, but Osorio’s movement will test her inside-out angles and serve holds. As national hopes swell, this run feels like the start of something bigger, Eala owning the court that shaped her.