NUMBER 3 seed Alexandra Eala of the Philippines opened her SP Open campaign in dominant fashion, winning the first nine games en route to a 6–0, 6–2 first-round victory over France’s Yasmine Mansouri on Tuesday (Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, PH time) at the National Tennis Center in San Paulo.
The 20-year-old Eala saved all four break points she faced and controlled the match from start to finish, winning 69.4 percent of her service points (34 of 49) and 60.8 percent of her return points (31 of 51).
Fresh off her maiden WTA Challenger title at the Guadalajara 125 Open last week, Eala is now chasing her first tour-level win.
Eala, who made history as the first Filipino to win a Grand Slam singles match at the US Open, broke Mansouri’s serve three times in the opening set and twice in the second to seal the convincing win.
“This is my first time in Brazil — and actually my first time in South America — so I’m really happy to see how lively the crowd is,” Eala said after the match. “I didn’t expect so many people to come out and watch me play. I guess I was lucky to be sandwiched between two great Brazilians, so I’m just happy to be here and to play well.”
Starting the WTA 250 event ranked No. 61, Eala has now climbed to No. 59 in the Live Rankings. A win in her second-round match against Argentina’s Julia Riera, currently ranked No. 188, could propel her to a new career-high of No. 55. Riera advanced to the round of 32 after defeating Vitalia Diatchenko in straight sets.
Elsewhere in the tournament, No. 5 seed Renata Zarazua of Mexico cruised past Brazil’s Luiza Fullana 6–2, 6–1; No. 6 seed Francesca Jones of Great Britain rallied to beat Israel’s Lina Glushko 4–6, 6–2, 6–3.
Eighth seed Panna Udvardy of Hungary swept past Anna Rogers 6–2, 6–3. Other winners included Turkey’s Berfu Cengiz and Brazilians Laura Pigossi and Ana Candiotto.
In the final match of the night, top seed and home favorite Beatriz Haddad Maia overwhelmed Italian qualifier Miriana Tona 6–1, 6–1.
The SP Open marks its debut on the WTA Tour and is the first top-tier women’s tournament held in Brazil since 2016. / FROM WIRES & TENNIS365 REPORTS