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For the fourth time in her last six tournaments, Filipina tennis star Alex Eala blows a first-set lead in a do-or-die setting as she falls to favored Victoria Mboko in the year-ending 2025 Hong Kong Open
MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala’s 2025 season ended with another stunning defeat, as problems with closing out high-level matches again plagued the Filipina tennis sensation.
Despite climbing to a new career-high world No. 51 rank, Eala bowed out of the season-ending WTA Hong Kong Open with a heartbreaking 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 collapse against world No. 21 Victoria Mboko of Canada on Thursday, October 30.
It was initially a scare for the 19-year-old Mboko on the eve of Halloween, as the 20-year-old Eala seized momentum off an exhilarating second game in the third set that went to four break points for a 2-0 lead, eventually setting the stage for a commanding 4-1 advantage ahead of a quarterfinal berth.
However, Mboko’s steely composure and Eala’s lack thereof prevailed in the succeeding games, as Mboko surged back with a stunning five-game romp to shock the Filipino-partisan crowd in Hong Kong, ending with a deflating Eala hit straight to a net snag to seal the final score in the Canadian’s favor.
Hardcourt heartbreaks
Since winning her first career WTA Tour championship in the 2025 Guadalajara Open, Eala has labored through a series of heartbreaks in her entire Asian tour starting late September, losing in three sets despite having a first-set lead a staggering four times in her last six eliminating losses.
In the remaining two ousters, Eala bowed out of the Wuhan Open after conversely rallying from a first-set deficit, while the other elimination came in the form of a 6-1, 6-2 blowout in the Japan Open first round.
Since Guadalajara, Eala has made pit stops in the Chinese cities of Jingshan, Suzhou, and Wuhan, before briefly traveling to Osaka in Japan, then returning to China in Guangzhou, and finally, Hong Kong to end her hardcourt campaigns and her breakthrough 2025 season overall.
After the barrage of tournaments, Eala now looks at two months of much-needed rest and retraining ahead of a huge Grand Slam season-opener in the 2026 Australian Open in January. – Rappler.com
