Ningbo Open: Eala breaks first-round slump in sweep of Parry

Alex Eala reclaimed her winning form after crushing France’s Diane Parry, 6-3, 6-1, to advance to the round of 16 of the Ningbo Open on Oct. 19, 2026, at the Yinzhou Tennis Center in China.

Fresh off back-to-back opening-round losses to Tatiana Prozorova in Singapore and Shi Han at the Wuhan Open, Eala succeeded in her mission to return to winning ways, dominating Parry to end her WTA skid.

The round-of-32 showdown kicked off as a highly entertaining slugfest, with both players trading service holds for a 2-all deadlock.

Eala seemed to find her footing after breaking Parry’s serve in the fifth game to seize a 3-2 lead, but the French challenger responded with a service break in the ensuing game to force another 3-all tie.

However, in a stunning turn of events, Eala flipped the switch, sweeping the next three games to close the opening set in style.

Eala secured two consecutive service breaks during her massive surge as she finally figured out Parry’s kick serves by utilizing her signature returns against second serves.

To avoid lengthy rallies, Eala stepped inside the baseline whenever Parry missed her first serve, pummeling the ball with force to increase her tally of return winners.

It was then all Eala in the second set as the Filipina ace limited Parry to just one game, showcasing her well-oiled offensive arsenal in a lopsided display of efficient baseline hitting.

Parry ran out of options and resorted to defensive lobs midway through the second set in hopes of disrupting Eala’s groundstroke rhythm, but the Filipina star stuck to what was working and continued her masterclass.

After racing to a commanding 4-0 lead, Eala never looked back and secured her round-of-16 berth with another service break, followed by a match-clinching service hold.

Eala wrapped up her much-needed win with 56 total points won, including an ace, six break points and 27 return points.

“I’m very happy with my performance,” Eala said.

“It was a tough first round. Diane is a great player and I think she’s had a really good year. So, congrats to her for the year she’s done. I’m really happy to be in the second round.”