Eala loses to Kostyuk in Rome, exits singles; focuses on doubles with Gauff

Filipina tennis player Alex Eala was eliminated from the Internazionali bnl d'Italia in Rome early Thursday morning after losing to Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk with a score of 6-0, 6-1.

Eala struggled against the World No. 27 player, who dominated the match, taking just over an hour to secure victory.

Kostyuk continued her strong performance into the second set, despite Eala briefly holding her serve in the fifth game.

The Ukrainian player had two aces and won 35 receiving points compared to Eala's five, showcasing her superior play throughout the match.

Eala will now focus on the doubles competition where she is partnering with American Coco Gauff, who is ranked world No. 3 and was the 2023 US Open Champion and Italian Open titlist.

Their first-round match in the doubles division is set for Friday against Fanny Stollar of Hungary and Alexandra Panova of Russia.