Alexandra Eala put her experience to work in the opening round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis, securing a straight-sets victory over 17-year-old wild card Mika Stojsavljevic. The eighth-seeded player needed just 75 minutes to dispatch the British teenager 6-1, 6-2.
The match brought together two former US Open junior champions. Eala, who claimed the girls’ title at Flushing Meadows in 2022, is four years senior to Stojsavljevic, the 2024 junior champion. Despite facing heavy firepower from her younger opponent, Eala maintained tight control of the scoreboard with a composed and mature performance.
Stojsavljevic, the World No. 411 making her latest tour-level appearance, displayed her trademark groundstroke power by hitting 24 winners compared to Eala’s eight. However, her aggressive style came with high risk, yielding 41 unforced errors. Eala capitalized on those mistakes while playing a watertight match anchored by impeccable serving. The Filipina landed 68 percent of her first deliveries, winning 72 percent of those points, and faced break points in only a single game—erasing a 0-40 deficit in the second game of the second set with two service winners and a disciplined one-two punch.
Following the victory, Eala advances to face Talia Gibson. Gibson reached the final in Singapore and secured her spot in the next round by defeating fellow Australian and qualifier Daria Kasatkina 6-0, 7-5, overcoming a fierce second-set challenge after taking the first eight games of the match consecutively.
Elsewhere in the tournament, injury withdrawals disrupted the singles draw. Second seed Maja Chwalinska pulled out of the competition due to a left thigh injury. Chwalinska arrived in Tokyo fresh off capturing her first career WTA title in Wuhan two weeks ago. Australia’s Kimberly Birrell, who earned her maiden title in Seoul last month, replaces Chwalinska in the main draw as a lucky loser and receives a first-round bye. Birrell will face qualifier Alycia Parks in the second round, after Parks advanced by defeating Wang Xinyu 6-1, 7-6(7), saving three set points in the second set.
Defending champion Belinda Bencic also withdrew from the event, citing a right ankle injury. Because her withdrawal occurred after the conclusion of Monday’s final singles match, tournament organizers announced she will be replaced in the draw by the highest-ranked lucky loser who signs in on Tuesday.
