Alex Eala would have been brimming with confidence ahead of the Qatar Open, but her hopes of a strong run were dampened with an opening-round defeat.<\/p>\n
The Filipina impressed during her quarter-final showing at the Abu Dhabi Open last week<\/a>, reaching the last eight of the WTA 500 event.<\/p>\n However, despite a strong run to start her Middle East swing, Eala<\/a> was unable to build on that momentum in Doha, falling to rising star Tereza Valentova.<\/p>\n Teen star Valentova had beaten Eala at the Japan Open in Osaka last October and again triumphed against the Filipina in their second meeting, edging a tight first set before easing to a 7-6(6), 6-1 victory.<\/p>\n Valentova will now have the opportunity to test herself against compatriot and 14th seed Karolina Muchova in round two, with Eala\u2019s tournament now over.<\/p>\n Defeat for Eala arguably stalls her momentum from Abu Dhabi, and means that her WTA Ranking will now be affected.<\/p>\n What prize money and ranking points did Eala earn?<\/p>\n Big prize money is on offer at the Qatar Open this year<\/a>, with the eventual women\u2019s singles champion set to take home an impressive $665,000 for their victory.<\/p>\n However, after losing in the opening round, Eala will earn just $18,300 for her campaign at the opening WTA 1000 event of the year.<\/p>\n Tennis News<\/p>\n What Elena Rybakina said about her fitness ahead of Qatar Open after she had illness<\/a><\/p>\n Iga Swiatek reveals three things she is \u2018working on\u2019 ahead of Qatar Open campaign<\/a><\/p>\n This year\u2019s champion will also be boosted significantly in the WTA Rankings, with a staggering 1,000 points on offer.<\/p>\n For her round-one exit, Eala is in line to earn just 10 ranking points.<\/p>\n The Filipina moved up five places to a new career-high of world No 40 in this week\u2019s WTA Rankings<\/a>, though is already guaranteed to drop places in next week\u2019s update.<\/p>\n As it stands, Eala is already down three places to world No 43 in the WTA Live Rankings, with lots of potential movement possible until the Qatar Open concludes on Saturday.<\/p>\n One player leaping ahead of Eala is Valentova, with the 18-year-old provisionally up eight places to a new career-high of world No 40 in the WTA Live Rankings following her victory over the Filipina on Monday.<\/p>\n Also leapfrogging Eala is Dayana Yastremska, with the Ukrainian up one place to world No 41 in the WTA Live Rankings, following a three-set win over Cristina Bucsa to start her Qatar Open campaign.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Jelena Ostapenko\u2019s opening-round win was enough for the Latvian to move ahead of Eala in the WTA Live Rankings, with the Latvian defending finalist points in Doha.<\/p>\n Across the rest of the week, it is possible that Eala could drop further in the WTA Live Rankings ahead of next Monday.<\/p>\n Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n