NewKerala.com

Wang Xinyu Exits WTA Italian Open After Loss to Eala in Rome

China's Wang Xinyu was eliminated from the WTA Italian Open after losing to Alexandra Eala of the Philippines in straight sets. Wang started strong with a 3-0 lead but faltered as Eala raised her intensity and capitalized on unforced errors. Top seed Aryna Sabalenka and defending champion Jasmine Paolini advanced, while Stefanos Tsitsipas and Matteo Berrettini exited early. Wang expressed regret over her decision-making in crucial moments, noting she could have been more aggressive when ahead.

Key Points: Wang Xinyu Falls to Eala at WTA Italian Open

  • Wang Xinyu loses to Alexandra Eala in second round
  • Eala wins 6-4, 6-3 after Wang's strong start
  • Sabalenka and Paolini advance to third round
  • Tsitsipas and Berrettini suffer early exits
3 min read

WTA Italian Open: China's Wang Xinyu exits from Rome after loss to Eala

China's Wang Xinyu loses to Alexandra Eala 6-4, 6-3 in Rome. Sabalenka and Paolini advance; Tsitsipas and Berrettini exit early.

"I think I could have played more aggressively when I was ahead in the first set. - Wang Xinyu"

Rome, May 8

China's Wang Xinyu lost to Alexandra Eala of the Philippines 6-4, 6-3 in the second round of the WTA Italian Open on Friday, failing to reach the last 32 after a match lasting 1 hour and 26 minutes.

The two players had previously met at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, earlier this year, where Wang won in three sets. In their latest encounter, Wang made a strong start by breaking serve and holding comfortably to race to a 3-0 lead in the opening set.

From the fourth game onward, however, Eala raised the intensity of her attacking play while Wang began to commit more unforced errors. Eala reeled off four consecutive games to turn the set around and eventually claimed it 6-4.

In the second set, Wang broke in the fifth game, but Eala responded immediately with a break back in the following game before sealing the set 6-3 to complete the straight-sets victory.

Wang said after the match that she could have handled key moments better, especially after taking an early lead in the opening set. "I think I could have played more aggressively when I was ahead in the first set," she said. "At some crucial moments, I made choices that were not accurate enough or not the best ones, so I do feel it's a bit of a pity."

Eala's third-round opponent will be either former champion and second seed Elena Rybakina or Greece's Maria Sakkari.

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka and defending champion Jasmine Paolini advanced to the third round of the 2026 Italian Open on Thursday, while Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas and Italian favourite Matteo Berrettini suffered early exits in the men's singles draw.

Sabalenka of Belarus defeated Czech player Barbora Krejcikova 6-2, 6-3 in straight sets. After an early exchange of breaks, the world No. 1 quickly took control of the match and never looked back, hitting 29 winners while committing just 13 unforced errors.

Ninth seed Paolini battled past qualifier Leolia Jeanjean 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4 in nearly three hours to survive a tough opening test.

Sixth seed Amanda Anisimova of the United States withdrew earlier in the day with a wrist injury. Lucky loser Elena-Gabriela Ruse replaced her in the draw but lost to Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko in three sets. Ostapenko will next face China's Zheng Qinwen in the third round.

In the men's singles first round, Berrettini lost in straight sets to Australia's Alexei Popyrin, disappointing the home crowd, while Tsitsipas fell to Czech player Tomas Machac.

- IANS

Share this article:

Reader Comments

S
Siddharth J
I feel Wang's post-match comments were honest - you need to be aggressive when you have the momentum. In Indian cricket terms, it's like having a good powerplay start and then losing wickets in the middle overs. Maintaining intensity is key. Anyway, nice to see Asian tennis progressing, even if China didn't win today.
R
Rohit P
Interesting to see how Eala from the Philippines is making waves too! We need more representation from South and Southeast Asia. Also, that Sabalenka performance was just brutal - 29 winners with only 13 unforced errors. That's the kind of dominance we Indians aspire to see from our own sports stars, whether it's tennis or badminton.
A
Ananya R
Wang lost concentration after that 3-0 lead. Happens to many players, but at the pro level those moments matter. I noticed the unforced errors climbed after she broke serve early in the second set too. She needs a better mental game coach. Also, nice to see Zheng Qinwen still in the draw - hope she does well against Ostapenko!
D
Deepak U
I'm not too surprised. Eala has been improving steadily, and Wang's game has some inconsistency. But what's more concerning for me as a fan of Asian tennis is that top seeds like Sabalenka are just steamrolling everyone. The gap between top 10 and the rest seems huge. At least the men's draw had some surprises with Tsitsipas and Berrettini losing early.
K
Kavya N
Honestly, I wish more Indian media covered tennis like this. We get so much cricket, but other sports need attention too. Wang's loss is

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

Leave a Comment

Minimum 50 characters 0/50