Alex Eala breaks 1st-round curse in anticlimactic walkover; Boulter retires

Alex Eala breaks a chilly streak of three straight first-round exits in her Asia tour by default as former world No. 23 Katie Boulter retires out of the Hong Kong Open on account of damage

MANILA, Philippines – A win is a win, as they are saying.

After three straight first-round exits in WTA singles competitors, Alex Eala lastly moved on to a second-round look as she gained by default walkover in opposition to world No. 79 Katie Boulter of the UK, 6-4, 2-1, within the WTA Hong Kong Open on Tuesday, October 28.

Billed as the primary occasion singles match of the evening at middle courtroom in Victoria Park, Eala backed her rise to a new career-high world No. 51 rank with a decent 6-4 opener from a 4-all tie over the 29-year-old Boulter, who held a career-high world No. 23 rank in November final yr.

The 20-year-old Eala remained forward, 2-1, earlier than the three-time WTA Tour champion Boulter known as for a coach throughout a medical timeout and subsequently retired, pushing the Filipina ace to the spherical of 16 by default.

“I’m a bit out of phrases. You understand, I believe this time of the yr is a tricky second for lots of gamers bodily and mentally, being the tip of the season. I hope that Katie can take this time to recuperate and simply look again at her season proudly,” Eala mentioned after the one-hour, 13-minute affair.

The reigning Guadalajara Open champion subsequent faces one other powerhouse in 19-year-old Canadian phenom Victoria Mboko, at the moment on a career-high tear to finish the 2025 season at world No. 21.

Eala now appears to be like to get a correct, full win in singles play after dropping her opening matches within the Wuhan Open qualifiers final October 4, the Japan Open final October 14, and the Guangzhou Open final October 21. – Rappler.com