Alex Eala’s fighting heart prevails again in gutsy win over Valentova

HONG KONG — A third meeting and a two-hour battle and Alex Eala has once again turned results in her favor in the final tournament of 2026 beating 19-year-old Tereza Valentova of the Czech Republic in two close sets at the Hong Kong WTA 250.

The Czech beat Eala, 6-1, 6-3, in Osaka in 2025 and 7-6, 6-1 in Doha earlier this year.

But in Hong Kong, Eala raised her level in the most crucial points and prevailed, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7).

“Well, I think it’s very fulfilling and motivational to get to play another match this year and have another chance to further my game,” she said.

Eala attributed the win to her continued development as she stays committed to her daily routines of hard work since their last meeting.

“It comes down a lot, I guess, to details and I think that our last meeting was a couple months ago already so there’s been, I guess, a lot of development that’s happened,” she said.

Eala, who needed four match points and a 9-7 tiebreak to  win described her mindset at the pressure points.

“It never really gets any easier. It’s always very difficult because although there’s always a chance to win, there’s always a chance to lose as well so you really have to go for it,” she said.

Eala’s emotions were plain to see after match point.

“The win, I guess you can see my reaction was amazing,” she said.

Valentova was equally determined. The Filipina described how tough it was.

“I think I really had to fight through especially with the chances that I had in the second set and close out the match,” she said.

“Like I mentioned before, I think it took a lot of mental strength to do that and to be in the match and to stay in the present so I’m really happy about it.”

Eala also thanked the Filipino community in Hong Kong and the many that flew in from all over the world to cheer for her.

“Thank you so much! Maraming maraming salamat sa mga nag-leave, sa mga bumili ng tickets, sa mga bumiyahe, lahat ng OFW dito sa Hong Kong. Maraming salamat sa support na kasi nararamdaman ko talaga lahat,” she said.

Eala next faces world number 81 Antonia Ruzic of Croatia, who beat Xinyu Wang in the round of 16, as she looks to extend her run in Hong Kong.