Eala, Chan falters to Rakhimova-Sasnovich pair’s late fightback, exits Hong Kong Open

Filipina tennis sensation Alex Eala and Taiwanese stalwart Chan Hao-Ching saw their doubles run cut short after bowing to Kamilla Rakhimova and Aliaksandra Sasnovich’s upsurge down the stretch, 6-3, 1-6, 7-10, during the first round of the 2025 Hong Kong Open, October 27. Despite a strong showing in the opener, Eala and Chan couldn’t seem to continue their streak coming into the latter stages of the match as they absorbed a 5–1 hole before falling to their foe’s late surge to tip the scales into their favor in just 1 hour and 37 minutes. Following the exit, Eala recently came off from a semi-final run at the Guangzhou Open with Nadiia Kichenok, a milestone that also saw her climb to a career-high world ranking of No. 51. Eala and Chan waxed hot right off the bat, mounting a 4-1 lead that propelled them to an early lead while unloading consecutive drop shots to leave their opposition defenseless early in the opening set. The Eala and Chan tandem then continued their onslaught down in the latter half of the first set as they asserted their defensive tactics from there to spur a 6-3 canto ender. However, the Asian duo failed to forecast the brewing storm to come. The Sasnovich and Rakhimova pair flipped the script in the second set, denying their rival’s early dominance by breaking their serve at 6–1 to force a decider. From thereon, Sasnovich and Rakhimova dominated the court as they pounced on their foe’s costly mishaps in the form of unforced errors and then stretched their advantage after exploding for a 5-1 lead en route to the victory. Eala now turns her focus to the singles draw, where she is set to take on Katie Boulter at Victoria Park Tennis Stadium this October 28, 10:00 am (Manila Time).