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| Filipina tennis star Alex Eala loses to fellow history-maker, Indonesian Janice Tjen, in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Sao Paulo Open. Photo: Premier Sports 2. |
After eight matches in less than two weeks, the 20-year-old Filipina ace ran out of steam and saw her campaign end in the quarterfinals of the WTA 250 Sao Paulo Open. Eala suffered a 6-4, 6-1 defeat at the hands of Indonesia’s Janice Tjen at the Villa-Lobos State Park on Friday (Saturday, Manila time).
Alex Eala ends her run at the 2025 Sao Paulo Open in Brazil after losing against fellow Asian Janice Tjen, 4-6, 1-6. pic.twitter.com/y265XtUlAt
— ๐ต๐ญ ๐๐๐๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ฝ๐ ด๐๐ (@EalaAlexandra) September 12, 2025
It was a battle between two Southeast Asian trailblazers, but on this day, it was Tjen who had more firepower. Eala raced to a quick 3-0 start, only to see the world No. 130 storm back with 23 blistering winners compared to her own four. From there, the Indonesian strung together 12 of the next 14 games to secure her first-ever WTA semifinal appearance.
Still, the Filipina had her chances. Down 1-2 in the second set, Eala earned a break point that could have leveled things, but her return clipped the net. Tjen pounced, holding serve with an ace and a crisp volley to widen the gap. Once she got rolling, there was simply no stopping the big-hitting 23-year-old.
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| Indonesia's Janice Tjen. Photo: Tennis.com. |
Eala staved off one match point late, but Tjen sealed the upset with back-to-back forehand winners, wrapping it up in just over an hour.
“I’m pretty happy with how I played today,” said Tjen. “Against Alex, you can never relax because she can turn things around anytime. I just tried to stay locked in until the last point.”
๐ฎ๐ฉJanice Tjen overpowers ๐ต๐ญAlex Eala 6-4 6-1
— TennisONE App (@TennisONEApp) September 12, 2025
Wins 12 of the last 14 games from *0-3 15-30
23 Winners to Eala’s 4
Once Janice got her heavy topspin forehand into play & found her range on second serve returns, it was tough for Eala to turn points around.pic.twitter.com/QJ1FipCOmE
The loss halted Eala’s seven-match winning streak and ended her bid for back-to-back titles following her breakthrough WTA 125 triumph in Guadalajara, Mexico. Still, the young Filipina showed plenty of fight, dispatching France’s Yasmine Mansouri and Argentina’s Julia Riera earlier in the week before running into Tjen.
Both players carried momentum from their historic US Open breakthroughs. Eala made waves as the first Filipino to win a Grand Slam main-draw singles match, while Tjen ended a 22-year wait for Indonesia with her upset of Veronika Kudermetova.
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| Alex Eala. Photo: AFP. |
For now, it’s Tjen who continues her dream run, becoming the first Indonesian to reach a WTA semifinal since 2002. She now sets her sights on sixth-seeded Francesca Jones of Great Britain for a ticket to the final.
As for Eala, this Sao Paulo setback is just part of the grind — a reminder that even rising stars need time to recharge before the next big swing.