Alex Eala came out swinging like a woman on a mission. Determined to book her place in the final of the WTA 125 Jingshan Tennis Open, the 20-year-old Filipina raced through the first set against familiar foe Lulu Sun of New Zealand, 6-3, in 35 minutes.
Eala, riding a six-match winning streak and fresh off her first WTA title in Guadalajara, looked untouchable. Not a single set dropped all tournament. Every swing sure. Every stride confident. It felt like history was hers to write—again.
But the 34-year-old Lulu Sun had a different script in mind.
The third-seeded Kiwi, who edged Eala at Wimbledon qualifiers last year, stayed patient. After trailing in the second set, she regrouped, pulled ahead 4-2, and held her nerve as Eala fought back to level at 4-all. Sun, steady and sharp, closed it 6-4.
In the decider, momentum shifted fully. Sun broke early, applied pressure with deep returns and piercing forehands, and never looked back. She sealed the match, 6-2, silencing what had been a swelling tide behind Eala.
The numbers told the story: Sun fired 4 aces to Eala’s 1, won 52 receiving points to Eala’s 39, and converted 8 of 14 break chances. Total points? Sun edged it, 98 to 91.
It was a spirited run for Eala, but on this day, Sun refused to set.
Sun now moves on to face China’s Yexin Ma, who clawed past Talia Gibson in a grueling three-set battle, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, to prevent an all-Kiwi final. Win or lose in the final, Sun will surely gain points to improve on here 146 ranking in the WTA—a number that was once at 39.
Eala won’t have much time to dwell—she heads straight to Suzhou for another WTA 125 event, this time as the fourth seed. Another stage. Another chance. For Eala, as in the rest of the WTA, chapters end quickly—and new ones begin just as fast.
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