By Peter Atencio
Second seed Alex Eala repulsed Valentina Ryser of Switzerland, 6-3, 7-5, on Sunday to earn the W25 Yecla leg crown of the International Tennis Federation World in Murcia, Spain.
It was the 18-year-old Eala’s third professional crown and her first for the season.
The last time Eala won a professional title was at the 2022 W25 Chiang Rai in Thailand and 2021 W15 Manacor in Spain.
Eala made progress on the 11th game of the third set, breaking serve twice after Ryser committed a double fault. The Filipina grabbed a 6-5 lead over the 560th world ranked Ryser.
The match ended after an hour and 30 minutes when Eala won her second of two more game points at 40-30 to clinch the last set at 7-5.
To reach the finals, Eala beat World No. 583 Katy Dunne of Great Britain in the first round, 7-5, 2-6, 6-2, and World No. 585 qualifier Nahia Berecoechea of France in the second round, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.