Alex Eala suffers a first-round exit in the Australian Open

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Alex Eala suffered an unexpected opening-round defeat at the hands of world No. 99 Alycia Parks of the U.S., 0–6, 6–3, 6–2, which wrapped up her Australian Open Grand Slam campaign on Jan. 19, 2026, in Melbourne.

The matchup felt like a review tape of Eala’s losses to Viktorija Golubic in Suzhou and Claire Liu in China, where she also took a comfortable 1–0 lead and fumbled the last two sets for a disappointing finish.

It was another so-close-yet-so-far scenario for the Filipina ace as she could not sustain her momentum for three straight sets, allowing Parks to gain steam midway through the second set, highlighted by a barrage of service aces and clinical drop-shot efficiency.

Fresh off a demoralizing 0–6 loss in the first set, Parks quickly moved on from that nightmare and displayed a more consistent groundstroke game, shrugging off a series of point-blank misses that could have saved her two games in the opener.

After regaining her serving rhythm, Parks scored a much-needed hold to get on board in the opening game, followed by a momentum-boosting break point to mount a 2–0 advantage in the second set.

Eala found a glimmer of hope after breaking back to pull within 3–2, but Parks bagged a crucial break point in the eighth game for a 5–3 lead.

Unfortunately for the 20-year-old Filipina, it was Parks’ turn to serve in the ninth game, which she approached after heating up with seven early service aces.

Parks successfully held serve to level the match at one set apiece, setting up a deciding third set, which she again dominated from the get-go after climbing back from a 0–40 deficit.

Eala failed to capitalize on her 40–0 lead as she committed a costly double-fault error that gifted Parks the 40-all deuce.

With immense pressure mounting on Eala, Parks pulled off the break and claimed a double-hold lead at 3–1, en route to a 5–2 advantage for the set-winning service.

Too powerful, in the zone, and energized by the hostile territory dominated by Pinoy fans, Parks did not let any late-game drama unfold and secured the eighth game to formalize the upset win.

Parks capped off the victory with 81 points won, including four crucial break points and 29 on the return, but it was her 12 aces that made a huge difference in the match.

Eala, on the other hand, struggled to find her toss rhythm after committing five double faults but made up for it offensively with 83 points won.

On to the next, Alex!