What happened to Alexandra Eala on Monday, in her first round match against Elise Mertens at the Bad Homburg Open? The Filipina has been trending toward a rise in the WTA rankings, potentially even a threat to make a deep run at Wimbledon beginning next week. Mertens had other ideas.
Maybe Eala, who has been dealing with a shoulder ailment, was physically ready to succeed. She might not have been able to help what happened, but she did jump out to a 3-1 first-set lead against the Belgian before the wheels came completely off for a bit.
Eala wouldn't win another game in the opening set, though she had already broken Mertens once. Eala dropped service game after service game for quite a while, until she had to look up at the scoreboard in the second set when she trailed 0-3, and realized that Mertens had reeled off eight straight game wins.
Elise Mertens ends Alexandra Eala's 2026 Bad Homburg run early
The Filipina's body language implied she knew she was already defeated and had little chance of coming back. She is only 21 years old and still finding her way on the WTA tour, but like Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula, she should never believe she is out of a match.
Finally, after dropping the first three games of a set she had to win, she was able to hold. At least she wouldn't be bageled in set two, she might have told herself, trying to find any reason to believe in herself in this specific match.
After all, Eala had defeated Mertens at the Madrid Masters this year in straight sets. That was the only time they had faced each other, so maybe the Filipina could take some positivity from that.
Mertens even tried to help a bit at 3-1 in the second set. She had two double faults in the game, one giving Eala a break point. The Belgian still came through, though, and led 4-1, a lead that seemed insurmountable due to Alexandra Eala's mental state as much as her physical ability.
Perhaps Eala was simply tired. She's played for four straight weeks ahead of Wimbledon. Maybe a forced rest will do her good. Meanwhile, Mertens taking the match 6-3, 6-3 might allow her to build confidence for Wimbledon, a major where she has never pushed past the fourth round.
Elise Mertens will face another must-watch match for tennis fans in the round of 16. She will play former WTA No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka. The Belgian can likely presume she will face a tougher test than she received from Eala.
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