Second seed Alex Eala beats lucky loser Emerson Jones to open Hong Kong Open bid
Alex Eala beat Australian lucky loser Emerson Jones 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open on 3 November. Jones replaced Alycia Parks, who withdrew with a shoulder injury, and Eala next faces Czech teenager Tereza Valentova.
Second seed Alexandra Eala won her opening match at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open on Tuesday evening, 3 November, beating Australian lucky loser Emerson Jones 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 23 minutes, the WTA reported.
Eala had been drawn to face American Alycia Parks. According to SPIN.ph, Parks withdrew from the round-of-32 match with a right shoulder injury, which let Jones, a lucky loser from qualifying, into the main draw as Eala's first-round opponent. Cebu Daily News said Jones is 18 and ranked No. 132.
How the match went
The WTA said Eala raced to a 4-0 lead in the opening set before Jones closed the gap to 4-3, and Eala then took the set 6-4. In the second set Eala built a 5-1 lead; Jones recovered one of the breaks, but Eala held on to win 6-3. Cebu Daily News reported that Eala needed two chances to serve out the match and converted the second of her two match points.
SPIN.ph reported that Eala won 61 percent of her first serves, and that the win earned her US$4,285 and 30 WTA ranking points. The WTA noted that Eala is ranked a career-high No. 17 in the WTA rankings this week.
Filipino fans in the stands
The tournament's own social post, quoted by the WTA, called Eala a "crowd favourite". Cebu Daily News reported that she thanked the crowd and the organisers, as well as the Filipino fans who waved flags and handmade signs from the stands.
"Emerson is such a sweetheart off the court and a great opponent on court, and I'm looking forward to more matches together," Eala said in her on-court interview, according to Cebu Daily News. The outlet also quoted her saying there are few places in the world more magical than Hong Kong in which to cap off an amazing season.
What comes next
Eala next faces Czech teenager Tereza Valentova, who beat qualifier Himeno Sakatsume 6-3, 7-5, the WTA reported. SPIN.ph said Valentova won both of their previous meetings, at the 2025 Japan Women's Open and in the first round in Doha (the Qatar Open).
Read the web like we doTurn any page into clean, ready-to-use data with FirecrawlKey facts
- Alex Eala beat Emerson Jones 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open on 3 November, in one hour and 23 minutes.
- Jones, a lucky loser from qualifying, replaced Alycia Parks, who withdrew with a shoulder injury.
- Eala, the second seed and ranked a career-high No. 17, thanked Filipino fans who waved flags and handmade signs in the stands.
- She next plays Czech teenager Tereza Valentova, who has won both of their previous meetings.
Official sources
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