Alex Eala, Hailey Baptiste fall to second-seeded foe in Italian Open Doubles

May 13 ------ Alex Eala officially wrapped up her campaign in the 2026 Italian Open after she and American partner Hailey Baptiste fell to the formidable tandem of Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova, 6-2, 6-1, in the women’s doubles Round of 32 in Rome.

Eala and Baptiste displayed composure and resilience in the opening frame, but the second-seeded duo proved too steady down the stretch to advance to the next round. Siniakova and Townsend — the same duo that ousted Eala and partner Zeynep Sonmez in the Madrid Open doubles Round of 16 late last month — came out firing after racing to a 4-0 lead in the opening set before the Filipina and American tandem finally got on the board behind consecutive points from Eala in Game 5.

The pairs then split the next two games, but Siniakova and Townsend seized Game 8 with the Czech star delivering an ace of her own to seal Set 1. Siniakova, currently the top doubles player in the world, and No. 2 Townsend surged to a similar 4-0 start in Set 2 after taking advantage of errors from the Eala and Baptiste. Siniakova and Townsend were just one point away from taking Game 5 despite Siniakova briefly going down after a hard fall while trying to keep the ball in play at deuce, 40-40. But Baptiste responded with a clutch ace on the next point to steal the game and prevent a potential Set 2 sweep.

Eala’s two consecutive errors in Game 7 handed Siniakova and Townsend match point before Siniakova sealed the victory with a strong backhand smash. Siniakova and Townsend will face Sorana Cirstea and Jaqueline Cristian in the Round of 16.

Source: gmanetwork.com