Alex Eala narrowly missed out on securing her inaugural Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour title after losing to Australia’s Maya Joint, with scores of 4-6, 6-1, 6-7 (10), during the Lexus Eastbourne Open in Great Britain on Saturday, June 28.

In a contest featuring two emerging talents, the 20-year-old Eala squandered four championship points in a thrilling match that lasted 2 hours and 26 minutes.

Joint ultimately secured her second WTA title and became the youngest champion of the event since 1981 at the age of 19.

Eala, on her part, still accomplished a significant milestone by becoming the first Filipina to reach a WTA Tour final.

You guys made it super special [and] it’s my first WTA final. It’s a big deal for me and for my country too because it’s the first time any Filipina has done anything [like this before],” an emotional Eala said moments after the match.

I guess that’s also why I’m so emotional, it’s only the first, [but] I’ll definitely work hard to do more [and] Wimbledon is next week so hopefully I’ll forget about this much sooner, she added.

Despite her defeat, the Asian Games double bronze medalist demonstrated potential on the grass court as she prepares for her second Grand Slam main draw appearance at Wimbledon next week.

Before her title loss, Eala navigated through two qualifying matches to reach the main draw, where she triumphed over heavily favored opponents, including 2021 winner and Grand Slam champion Jelena Ostapenko, with scores of 0-6, 6-2, 3-2 (retired) in the round of 16, Russian Dayana Yastremska in the quarterfinals, 6-1, 6-2, and Frenchwoman Varvara Gracheva in the semifinals, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3.

Eala overcame a sluggish start against Joint, recovering from a 4-1 deficit to close in at 5-4 before ultimately losing the first set.

However, she reversed her fortunes and dominated the second set with ease, leading to a decisive third set.

She maintained her position from there, even taking a 5-4 lead, but faltered when it was most crucial.