By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala fell short of her bid to make it to the main draw of the W25 Manacor tournament in Spain after losing in the third qualifying round Tuesday.
Eala, 16, did try her very best but found Frenchwoman Alice Rame too much to hurdle, losing 6-2, 6-4, in the match for one of the eight qualifying berths of the $25,000 event.
Rame, 24, is seeded No. 1 in the three-round qualifying while Eala is ranked only at No. 11.
“Not the result I wanted (today), but still happy with my performance on court,” Eala wrote on her social media account.
With her WTA ranking at No. 526, Eala had to go through the three-round, 64-player qualifying round to make it to the 32-player main draw field.
She advanced to the third round with a quick 6-, 6-1 victory over Slovenia’s Ella Hojnik in the first round, a win she followed up with a 7-6 (2), 6-3 victory over Slovakia’s Mia Chudejova, 7-6 (2), 6-3.
Eala won her first pro title last year after topping the W15 Manacor.
The Frenchwoman is currently ranked No. 375 in the WTA against Eala’s No. 526.
