Parks pulled out with a shoulder injury, and lucky loser Emerson Jones took her place. Eala needed 1 hour and 23 minutes to start her final tournament of the season with a win.
Eala moved up two places in the rankings released November 2, past the No. 18 she reached in August. She is the highest-ranked Filipino and Southeast Asian in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour’s history.
A tiebreak that turned on a double fault and a right ankle that needed treatment in the third set ended Alex Eala’s Pan Pacific Open. It is the second time in eight days that Diana Shnaider has beaten her.
