Eala crashes out in Round 1 of Italian Open, teams up with Coco Gauff in doubles

ALEX EALA absorbed a near shutout against world No. 27 Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, 6-0, 6-1, to bow out early in Round 1 of the Italian Open on Thursday.

Ms. Eala bled for just a game in the second set after being wiped out in the first, crashing out of Rome tourney in just a little over an hour of play.

The Italian Open serves as Ms. Eala’s final tourney before a much-awaited Grand Slam main draw debut in the French Open on May 25 to June 8 in Paris.

Ms. Kostyuk, 22, will face WTA No. 15  and Italian Open No. 14 seed Daria Kasatkina of Australia in the Round of 64.

Still, there’s a silver lining for the 19-year-old Filipina pride, who will have a chance in the doubles with world No. 3 Coco Gauff of the United States.

The Filipina-American tandem will slug it out against Alexandra Panova of Russia and Fanny Stollar of Hungary in the Round of 64 on Friday.

Ms. Gauff is playing in the doubles first after gaining a bye in the singles of the Italian Open.

The 21-year old Ms. Gauff is a doubles champion in the 2024 French Open with Kateřina Siniaková of the Czech Republic, making it a strong chance for her and Ms. Eala in Rome.

Ms. Eala, for her part, won the girls’ doubles in the 2020 Australian Open with Priska Madelyn Nugroho of Indonesia and the 2021 French Open with Russian partner Oksana Selekhmeteva. — John Bryan Ulanday