Camille Naredo

Article (news)

Alex Eala

ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- Despite another tough outing against a Czech opponent, Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala maintained an even keel as she exited the 2026 Miami Open. Eala&#x27;s struggles against players from Czechia continued on Monday night, with world no. 14 Karolína Muchova coming away with a 6-0, 6-2 win in their round-of-16 showdown.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/3/24/alex-eala-bows-out-of-miami-open-0012">READ: Alex Eala bows out of Miami Open in loss to Karolina Muchova</a></div>The Filipina is now 0-12 against Czech players as a professional, and this latest loss ensured that she would not repeat her feat in 2025, when she reached the semifinals in Miami as a wildcard.There were no excuses for the 20-year-old, who acknowledged that her veteran opponent &quot;played really well.&quot;&quot;And I definitely did not play my best but of course, that&#x27;s also a big part because of how she played,&quot; Eala told reporters after the loss. &quot;I think there are details that I could have done better, and maybe, if I had done those better, maybe it would&#x27;ve resulted in a more competitive match,&quot; she added. &quot;But I&#x27;m still really happy about this week. Of course, leaving the court today a little disappointed, which is normal, but overall, very happy with my performance this week.&quot;Eala <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/3/24/-masaya-pa-din-alex-eala-takes-pride-in-reaching-miami-open-fourth-round-1502">reached the fourth round</a> after wins over Laure Siegemund and Magda Linette, having entered the tournament as the 31st seed.In 2025, she was a wildcard in the Miami Open and went all the way to the semifinals. In what was her breakout campaign, Eala scored big wins over Grand Slam champions Iga Swiatek and Madison Keys before falling to Jessice Pegula in the semis.While she failed to reach the same heights this year, Eala kept her campaign in perspective.&quot;I think there was definitely a little added pressure here, more from just kind of myself than anything. But I handled it quite well,&quot; she said.&quot;I wouldn&#x27;t say it was such a big deal or such a way just because I&#x27;ve said in my previous interviews, like I&#x27;ve done a lot of the work before this tournament. So, I&#x27;m still happy for my progress and the trajectory of my improvement,&quot; Eala added.&quot;I&#x27;m just gonna focus on keeping that trajectory.&quot;While acknowledging that her performance against Muchova was below her standard, Eala refused to get too down on herself.&quot;I think it&#x27;s just something that happened today. I don&#x27;t know, that&#x27;s how I see it,&quot; she said. &quot; wouldn&#x27;t say that I&#x27;m someone up and down because just how I prepare, and how my mentality during my matches is I give the same effort, the same focus, and I give everything.&quot;Today, it just didn&#x27;t turn out as well as the other days.&quot;Eala will now shift her focus to the clay season, which for the Filipina starts at the Linz Open in Austria.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/3/14/tennis-alex-eala-set-for-debut-at-linz-open-1442">READ: Alex Eala set for debut at Linz Open</a></div>&quot;That&#x27;s one surface [where] I think I definitely have a lot of room for improvement,&quot; said Eala. &quot;I&#x27;d love to see how it will pan out this year.&quot;&quot;I think I will take a couple of days off,&quot; she also said. &quot;It&#x27;s going to be another long one.&quot;

Despite another tough outing against a Czech opponent, Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala maintained an even keel as she exited the 2026 Miami Open.

Despite another tough outing against a Czech opponent, Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala maintained an even keel as she exited the 2026 Miami Open.

Tennis: Alex Eala stays on an even keel after Miami Open exit

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Tennis: Alex Eala stays on an even keel after Miami Open exit

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published March 24, 2026 04:48 PM PHT

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abssports

tennis

Alex Eala

Karolína Muchova

Miami Open

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