Alex Eala’s wait for her first win at the French Open continues after she made a first-round exit for the second consecutive year.

Last year, Eala made history at Roland Garros when she became the first Filipina to qualify for the main draw of a Grand Slam, but she lost in three sets against Emiliano Arango.

Twelve months later, she was handed a tough opening assignment in Paris as she faced her close friend and 17th seed American Iva Jovic with the match coming just a few days after the pair celebrated Eala’s 21st birthday.

And it was the 18-year-old Jovic who dominated the match as she came away with a 6-4, 6-2 win to set up a second-round clash against fellow American Emma Navarro.

The teenager raced into a 5-1 lead with two breaks of serve, but Eala fought back to reduce the deficit to 5-4, only to lose her serve again as Jovic wrapped up the set. After trading breaks in the first two games of the second set, the American ran away with two late breaks.

WTA Rankings Update

Eala – who has reached a career-high No 29 – started the French Open at No 37 in the WTA Rankings after moving up one place on Monday.

And she has moved up two places to No 35 after a few players dropped down the list once their points from the 2025 tournament were removed.

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The Filipina, of course, was defending 10 points from last year, but earned those points back by appearing in the first round.

It is unlikely that Eala will finish the tournament at No 35 as several players behind her in the Live Rankings are still alive at the French Open and will overtake her with a couple of wins.

What’s To Come

Eala will next be in action at the women’s doubles at the French Open as she has partnered another good friend, Victoria Mboko, with the pair set to face Daria Shnaider and Leylah Fernandez in the first round on Wednesday.

The Filipina will then switch her attention to the grass-court season with her first event set to be WTA 125K Birmingham Open at the Edgbaston Priory Club with the tournament running from 1-7 June.

The 21-year-old is set to be the top seed with the likes of Janice Tjen, Tatjana Maria and Talia Gibson also set to feature.

She also featured in Birmingham last year, but lost in the first round against Linda Fruhvirtova.