FILIPINA tennis sensation Alexandra Eala vows to come back stronger after losing to Spain’s Cristina Bucsa in the second round of the US Open 2025 on Thursday (Manila time) at the Flushing Meadows, New York.
The 20-year-old Eala conceded four points off five breaks in the second set and fell after just 82 minutes, 4-6, 3-6, to Bucsa, a Moldovan-born Spanish player, who saw action in the Paris Olympics.
“Every loss is an opportunity to come back stronger and learn more about yourself. I think that she played very well and I definitely had my chances, and it was a good thing,” said the 5’9” Eala when she reflected on her encounter with Bucsa.
Eala still made history as the first female player from the Philippines to compete in the singles’ main draw of the modern era.
She will next see action in the Sao Paulo Open that will run from September 8 to 14 in Brazil.
It will be Sao Paulo’s first WTA tournament in 25 years and will have a 32-player singles main draw.
World No. 22 Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil and No. 47 Hailey Baptiste of the United States are among the top players joining.
“There’s not much I can do now, just reflect and try to come back better next time,” added Eala.
The Quezon City-born Eala converted only three of her nine break points.
On the other hand, Bucsa scored six points off a total of eight breaks.
And Bucsa was also more consistent with her first serve (71.9% to 66.1%), and had three aces.
The 27-year-old Bucsa had three aces and picked up 30 points off 46 first serves.
This allowed Bucsa to get back at Eala, who beat her four years ago in a $25000 ITF/Tennis Europe event in Grenoble, France. Eala won that game, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8), in the second round.
As a consolation, Eala went home with prize money worth $154,000 or around $8.799 million, one of her biggest payouts this season.
The 20-year-old Eala came off a dramatic 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11) upset of no. 14 seed Clara Tauson in the first round.
