Eala, partner crash out of Guangzhou Open doubles

Alexandra Eala of the Philippines plays a forehand against Marketa Vondrousova of Czechia during their first round match on Day One of the WTA 1000 National Bank Open at IGA Stadium on July 27, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images / AFP

MANILA, Philippines — The tandem of Alex Eala and Nadiia Kichenok bowed out of the Guangzhou Open doubles semifinals after absorbing a three-set heartbreaker against the pair of Poland’s Katarzyna Piter and Indonesia’s Janice Tjen, 7-6(4), 3-6, 5-10, Saturday in China.

Piter and Tjen have won their third straight three-set match in the Guangzhou Open, but that did not deter them against the Filipino-Ukrainian duo.

After digging deep in the first set, Eala and Kichenok started off the second set hot, winning the first two games.

But Piter and Tjen found their rhythm, winning the next five to go up, 5-2.

The Filipino-Ukrainian pair, however, kept themselves alive, breaking their opponent’s serve, 3-5.

But the Polish-Indonesian team forced the 10-point tiebreak after winning the ninth game.

In the tiebreak, Eala and Kichenok got the first point, but their opponents were just too good to handle.

The Filipina, who also bowed out of singles’ play earlier in the week, had a promising partnership with Kichenok in Guangzhou.

They defeated Tang Qianhui and Emily Appleton in the round of 16, followed by a straight-sets victory over the Russian pair of Polina Kudermetova and Kamilla Rakhimova on Friday.

Piter and Tjen started off their campaign with a win against the duo of Kristina Mladenovic and Leolia Jeanjean, followed by a huge victory over the top-seeded team of Elena Pridankina and Quinn Gleason.

And including their match against Eala and Kichenok, they lost the first set before winning the next two.

The winning partners will take on Liang En-Shuo and Eudice Chong in the final on Sunday.