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Alex Eala made a confident start to her Toray Pan Pacific Open campaign, defeating British wildcard Mika Stojsavljevic 6-1, 6-2 in Tokyo on Monday, October 26. The eighth-seeded Filipina needed just 75 minutes to reach the round of 16 at the WTA 500 tournament, where she will next face Australia’s Talia Gibson.
The result put Eala through after a controlled performance that limited her opponent’s consistency despite Stojsavljevic’s ability to strike winners. The official WTA report recorded 24 winners from the British teenager against Eala’s eight, but also 41 unforced errors compared with only 11 from the winner.
Eala quickly established control, racing into a 5-0 lead in the opening set. Stojsavljevic got on the scoreboard in the sixth game, but the Filipina held her nerve to close out the set 6-1 and keep the match firmly on her terms.
The second set offered more resistance from the 17-year-old Briton. Stojsavljevic managed to stay closer on the scoreboard and created three break points in one service game, but Eala responded with a composed serving display and escaped the threat before pulling away to complete the straight-sets victory.
According to the WTA match report, Eala landed 68 per cent of her first serves and won 72 per cent of points behind those deliveries. She faced break points in only one game, in the second set, and worked her way out of a 0-40 deficit with service winners and an effective follow-up attack.
The numbers illustrated the contrast between the players’ approaches. Stojsavljevic hit 24 winners, three times Eala’s total, showing the power she could generate from the baseline. However, the British wildcard also made 41 unforced errors, while Eala recorded 11, allowing the eighth seed to maintain scoreboard control without needing to match every attacking shot.
The match brought together two players who had won the US Open girls’ singles title earlier in their careers. Eala claimed the junior championship in 2022, while Stojsavljevic won it in 2024. The Tokyo meeting was a first-round clash between those former junior champions, with Eala’s additional tour-level experience proving decisive on the day.
Stojsavljevic, 17, entered the main draw as a wildcard. The WTA noted that she had made her tour-level main-draw debut in Tokyo in 2024, when she pushed Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima to a deciding-set tiebreak. This time, she produced flashes of power but could not turn them into sustained pressure against Eala.
Eala’s next opponent is Australia’s Talia Gibson, who defeated Daria Kasatkina 6-0, 7-5 earlier on Monday. Gibson’s first-set performance was emphatic, and she held on in the second to book her place in the round of 16. The matchup gives Eala another test against an opponent who has already secured a notable win in Tokyo.
Progress to the last 16 keeps Eala in contention at one of the WTA Tour’s key autumn events in Asia. The Pan Pacific Open is a WTA 500 tournament played on hard courts, and a deep run would offer valuable match opportunities late in the season. Eala will need to maintain the serving discipline and error control that helped her get past Stojsavljevic.
The round-of-16 match also presents a fresh challenge after a first-round win that lasted just 75 minutes. Gibson advanced in straight sets as well, so both players arrive having spent relatively little time on court in their opening matches. The official tournament schedule will determine the confirmed start time for their next encounter.
The tournament also experienced late changes to the women’s singles draw. The WTA reported that second seed Maja Chwalinska withdrew because of a left thigh injury, while defending champion and fourth seed Belinda Bencic pulled out with a right ankle injury. Their withdrawals altered the draw and opened places for replacements, though Eala’s own path will depend on the results of her section.
For Eala, the immediate task remains straightforward: prepare for Gibson and try to carry the first-round level into the next match. Her win over Stojsavljevic showed that she could manage an opponent who hit aggressively, absorb pressure on serve and take advantage of errors. The next round will offer a clearer measure of whether she can turn that opening performance into a longer run in Tokyo.
