Alex Eala settled for a $2,000 purse after bowing out of contention in the women’s singles of the ongoing Women’s Tennis Association (WTA)-125 Mumbai Open Tennis Championship at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai.
Eala conceded three service breaks to Japan’s Mai Hontama, who went on to post a 7-6 (5), 6-2, triumph in their Round of 16 encounter on Wednesday evening in India.
Her live WTA rankings dropped a few notches to 138, after Eala and Hontama were done with their showdown in an hour and 47 minutes.
The world no. 166 Hontama went on to advance to the quarterfinals.
The 19-year-old Eala advanced to the second round after taking an hour to get past Sara Saito of Japan, 6-1, 6-0.
Later, Eala and Taiwanese partner Chia Yi Tsao absorbed a 4-6, 4-6 loss to Russian pair Amina Anshba and Elena Pridanka in their doubles’ clash.