Eala sees abrupt end to Australian Open debut with doubles loss

The Philippines’ Alexandra Eala hits a return to USA’s Alycia Parks during their women’s singles match on Day 2 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 19, 2026. David Gray/AFP

MANILA, Philippines — The Australian Open debut of Alex Eala has officially come to an end.

Eala saw her first stint in the Grand Slam tournament draw to a close after absorbing a tough three-set defeat in doubles’ action, 6(3)-7, 6-2, 3-6 at the hands of Shuko Aoyama and Magda Linette Tuesday at Melbourne Park.

Eala and her partner, Ingrid Martins, forced the third set after a heartbreaking loss in the first set, but they eventually faltered after two hours and 38 minutes of action.

The Filipino-Brazilian duo had a strong start in the match, going up 4-0.

Aoyama and Linette, though, climbed out of that hole and won the next three games to cut it to just a game apart, 3-4.

But Eala and Martins were able to move to set point, 5-3, before their opponents tied things up anew, 5-5.

Eala and Martins, however, got the upper hand, but Linette and Aoyama forced the tiebreak, which they eventually won, 7-3.

The Filipino-Brazilian pair then recovered with a dominant second set, forcing the third frame.

But it seemed that Eala and Martins ran out of fuel, going down 0-4, a deficit they could not overcome.

They tried to get out of the deficit, cutting it to 3-4, but Linette and Aoyama kept their composure with the finishing kick in the final two games.

While the receiving points won by the two tandems were virtually identical, the victors’ 61 service points won spelled the difference to their opponent’s 55.

The Filipina earlier exited the singles’ action after a 6-0, 3-6, 2-6 defeat to Alycia Parks on Monday.