Philippines's Alexandra Eala plays a forehand return to US Iva Jovic during their women's singles match on day 3 of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland-Garros Complex in Paris on May 26, 2026. Alain Jocard, AFP
Filipina tennis star Alex Eala remained optimistic after her first-round exit at the French Open, saying the loss to close friend Iva Jovic serves as motivation to continue improving her game.
“I think it was a good match, of course,” Eala said after falling 4-6, 2-6 at Roland Garros.
“Pretty good level. I think there are a lot of takeaways that I can get from this match. I think it sends a message to keep on working and keep on building, “ she said at the post-match press conference.
READ: Alex Eala exits French Open with loss to Iva Jovic
The match carried added emotional weight as Eala and Jovic share a close friendship off the court.
“Iva is such a good friend of mine,” Eala said. “But I think the difficult part comes in knowing that not both of us are going to advance and, of course, as friends ,you all want to kind of advance together.”
“But in terms of actually competing against each other as competitors, I think we’re very accustomed to it and we’re all professionals, so everything was prepared in the same way that you would in any other Slam,” she added.
Eala stressed that the challenge came more from Jovic’s level than from the emotional aspect of facing a friend.
“I think the difficulty with facing Iva comes from her being a great tennis player and her being a really good competitor instead of being my friend,” she said.
Jovic, meanwhile, admitted Eala was among the most challenging opening-round opponents she could have faced.
“I think it was a tough one,” Jovic said. “Alex is a great player, one of the toughest first rounds, especially as a seeded player, that I could have gotten. But I hung tough when I needed to and happy to get it done in straights.”
The American teenager said there were “no secrets” between the two because of how familiar they already were with each other’s games.
“We practiced together a ton. We played doubles together a ton,” Jovic said. “So I think we both know our tendencies and everyone was ready for the other one. It was just about who was going to play their game a bit better that day.”
“She’s definitely one of my closest friends on tour. I have so much respect for her as a person and a player. We had a big hug before the match, a big hug after,” she added.
“No bad blood there. I’m sure there’ll be many more matches and she’ll get me a couple times too. So that’s tennis.”
Despite the loss, Eala remained encouraged by her growth and development on the professional tour.
“I’m super proud of how far I’ve come,” Eala said. “I’m confident in myself. I’m confident in how I play even through losses like this. And I think that’s very important. It’s very difficult to achieve every single week, so I take that in my stride.”
The Filipina teenager also reflected on the importance of friendships among young players navigating life on tour.
“I think friendships are really, really important,” the Filipina star said. “Especially at the age I’m at. A lot of the younger girls on tour — if we weren’t professional tennis players — we’d probably be in university or other setups where it’s easier to make friends because the environment is already built for you.”
“We’re under very unique circumstances, so having friends matters a lot to me personally,” she added.
Eala revealed that when she was younger, she used to avoid friendships with fellow competitors because she believed that was the norm among top players.
“I definitely went through a phase of not being friends with competitors,” she shared. “Mostly when I was really young.”
“But I think the beauty of our generation now is that we have the power to control the norm,” she continued. “If we’re able to show people that you can compete fiercely and with intent and that fire while also being friends off the court, then that can have a great impact for the generations to come.”
Analyzing the match itself, Eala acknowledged that Jovic performed better in key areas and showed the level she still hopes to consistently reach.
“There were definitely apparent differences,” Eala said. “I think there were a couple things that Iva did better than me today. That’s where I see the difference between players at her ranking and my general level right now.”
“I’m not saying I can’t get there and I’m not saying I haven’t produced that level yet, but I know what work needs to be done in order to make it more of my average,” she added.
Eala also lightened the mood during the press conference when asked about athleticism outside tennis.
“I was never good at any other sport,” she joked. “It was bad.”
“I just put everything I had into tennis and yeah, it worked out,” she added with a laugh.
Eala and partner Victoria Mboko are set to face Leylah Fernandez and Diana Shnaider in the fourth match on Court 10, starting at 5 p.m. Manila time.
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