ALEX Eala had the crown in her fingertips four times.
She blew it four times.
Maya Joint had it for the taking two times. She succeeded in her second try.
Eala lost her maiden WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) title. It broke her heart — but, of course.
Joint won her second WTA plum, having prevailed in the Morocco Open just weeks back.
She praised Eala in her victory speech.
“She (Eala) is an incredible player,” said Joint, only 19 and who is considered as the next star of Australian tennis.
Eala had spoken earlier, also warmly congratulating Joint in-between sobs while clutching her glass runner-up trophy.
“It’s a big deal for me and for my country, too,” said Eala, at 20 already the Philippines’ queen of tennis. “That’s why I guess I’m so emotional.”
Right after the match, Eala, who earned $30,830 to Joint’s $51,330, shed tears, covering her face with a white towel.
“I’ll remember this week and this moment forever,” she said. “Wimbledon is next week so hopefully, I forget this match soon.”
She has defending champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic for a first round foe on Tuesday (PH time).
And, despite that stinging setback to Joint, Eala might have learned lessons on resilience and fighting spirit heading into Wimbledon, her second major after the French Open.
Such was her battle against Joint that took epic proportions, starting late Saturday night (June 28, 2025, PH time) and ending close to midnight.
Joint won in a marathon tiebreak at 12-10 in the third and final set, sealing a 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 victory over Eala to capture the Lexus Eastbourne Open in a lung-buster final.
It had all the trappings of a classic as both players slugged it out to the bone, the match lasting 2 hours and 26 minutes before a giddy sell-out crowd at the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club in London, United Kingdom.
Someone said that in sports, “pressure is a pleasure.”
The way things turned out in Eastborne, did Joint handle pressure with more pleasure than Eala?
Looks like it.
But it is just one final. Eala got knocked down, yes, but never knocked out.
As her mentor, the 22-time Slam champ Rafael Nadal, succinctly said it: “It’s the first final of many finals.”
Eala’s journey rolls on.