Eala off to next round of Cincinnati Open as Ruse retires
MANILA, Philippines — Back like she never left.
Alex Eala dominated in her return to action, but ultimately breezed through to the next round of the Cincinnati Open after her opponent, Elena-Gabriela Ruse, retired, 6-1, 3-0, in a rain-delayed match early Sunday morning (Manila time).
Eala was firmly in control of the match, having won the past nine games, before Ruse retired from the tournament.
Get well soon Gabriela ????
— wta (@WTA) August 15, 2026
Alex Eala advances to Round 3 in Cincinnati as Ruse is forced to retire.#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/Ve1W9prEkF
The Romanian, ranked 74th in the world, started the match off by breaking the serve of Eala. But from that point on, the Filipina grabbed the match by the horns.
She won game after game, taking the first set 6-1 and taking a 3-0 lead as Ruse became more and more frustrated.
With Eala serving in the fourth game, the umpire called for a pause in the play due to a lightning suspension.
But the match ended in anti-climactic fashion, as Ruse, who called for a medical timeout just before the lightning suspension due to an apparent foot injury, begged off.
Eala thus had her revenge against Ruse, who defeated the Filipina in the 2024 US Open Qualifiers.
Eala had a first-round bye in Cincinnati as the 17th seed.
Ruse, for her part, defeated Magda Linette in the first round to set the date with the Filipina.
The World No. 20 tennister, who exited the Canadian Open in the Round of 16 last week, be heading to the Round of 32, where she now take on either Zeynep Sonmez or Amanda Anisimova.
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