Diana Shnaider played and beat Alex Eala for the second time in as many weeks today, but their two matches could not have been more different.
Whilst she fell to a rather underwhelming straight-sets loss in Ningbo, never really threatening to win the match, here in Tokyo she impressed throughout.
Snatching the first set rather comprehensively, this was a clash of fine margins. Her Russian opponent won the second set in a tiebreak, and it took just the sole break to decide the third set in favour of Shnaider.
Speaking afterwards, she was supremely complimentary of Alexandra Eala, claiming that the quality and competition were befitting of a final.
It would be hard to argue with her.
Diana Shnaider speaks after beating Alex Eala in Tokyo
She began with that very claim: “Yeah, honestly, I feel like this match deserved to be a final.”
Shnaider then continued to praise Eala, adding: “It was an insane level of tennis from both of us. I didn’t believe that I would be able to pull the death wind off, you know, because she played insane, but I was just trying to keep reminding myself to keep fighting for every point, and as you see on the score, it was a very tight second set.
Which of these four WTA players do you think is most likely to win a Grand Slam in 2027?
“So, yeah, definitely just fighting for a point and that paid off.”
The on-court interview ended with Shnaider being asked what her game plan will be for her next match.
She laughed as she admitted: “No idea, guys. I just finished my match.
“The only thing I wanna do is stretch, eat, and do the recovery. That’s all I want to do right now.”
Eala’s serve has made huge improvements this week in Tokyo, meaning there’s huge cause for optimism despite another loss to Shnaider.
Where will Alex Eala end her 2026 season?
Given that Eala can no longer qualify for the WTA Finals, there is little left for her to play for other than a small rankings boost and personal pride.
And, having now been knocked out of the Pan Pacific Open, there is just one tournament left for the 21-year-old.
The Filipina will now travel to Hong Kong to conclude her season at the WTA 250 event there.
The chances of Eala facing Shnaider once again are high in Hong Kong, as they headline a stacked player list also including Leylah Fernandez, Maria Sakkari and Jasmine Paolini.
