Philippines' Alexandra Eala hits a return against Russia's Tatiana Prozorova during the WTA Singapore Open Tennis round 16 in Singapore on September 24, 2026. Roslan Rahman, AFP
(UPDATED) Filipina tennis star Alex Eala suffered an upset loss at the hands of Russia's Tatiana Prozorova in the round-of-16 of the Singapore Tennis Open, Thursday night at the OCBC Arena.
Prozorova battled through a one-set deficit to score a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win and advance to the quarterfinals.
She will be up against China's Wang Xinyu in the last eight.
It was the biggest win of Prozorova's career, having entered the match ranked No. 180 and without a victory over a player in the top 40.
But she steadily wore down Eala over the three-hour battle, overturning a 4-2 deficit in the second set and outplaying the Filipina ace down the stretch of the deciding frame.
"Honestly I don't have any words right now to describe my emotions, my feelings. Wow, I did it. I just did it, yeah," the 22-year-old said after the match. "I just believed in myself until the end.
"I knew she would fight, and I also would fight until the end. That's just what I did, and it worked."
It was a disappointing outcome for Eala, who entered the Singapore Open as the third seed and again enjoyed the support of a capacity crowd at the venue. She battled through a shaky start and a marathon tenth game to take the opener, erasing a 3-1 deficit and finding her rhythm.
Eala won four straight games for a 5-3 advantage before Prozorova held to get back into the match at 5-4.
The 10th game was a war of attrition that featured eight deuces, as the gritty Prozorova saved a stunning six set points and even did pushups on the court during a break in action. A sensational forehand volley gave Eala a seventh set point, and this time the Filipina took care of business with a blistering serve that Prozorova returned in wayward fashion.
Riding the momentum of that win, Eala surged to a 4-2 advantage in the second set and looked to be well in control. But Prozorova scored a crucial hold, then broke Eala to love for a 4-4 count before seizing a 5-4 advantage on her serve.
An exchange of holds gave Prozorova a 6-5 advantage, and the Russian came up clutch in the 12th game to stun Eala. The Filipina was on the brink of forcing a tiebreak when Prozorova fired back-to-back forehand winners to take the advantage, and a fumble on her own forehand by Eala instead sent the match to a decider.
Tied at 3-3 in the third set, Prozorova held in a marathon seventh game to snatch the momentum. Eala failed to convert four break points, and Prozorova ripped consecutive forehand volleys before an ace gave her the game and a 4-3 lead that she would not relinquish.
It was all Prozorova from there, with the Russian cruising in the next two games to wrap up the impressive victory.
This was Eala's first match since a loss to Iva Jovic in the third round of the US Open. She received a bye to the round-of-16 as the third seed. Russia's Prozorova, for her part, advanced to the second round after a hard-earned win over Sofia Coustoulas of Belgium in the first round.
Up next for Eala now is the 2026 Asian Games, where she will be looking to add to the Philippines' medal haul.
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