Before the 2026 season, the Philippines' Alexandra Eala had won just 15 tour-level matches in her career. On Monday, the 21-year-old recorded her 34th tour-level victory of the season, defeating France's Diane Parry in straight sets in the first round of the WTA 500 tournament in Ningbo, China.

Eala and Parry exchanged early breaks in the opening set. However, from 3-3, the Filipino won seven consecutive games to build a 6-3, 4-0 lead before closing out a 6-3, 6-1 victory in 1 hour, 17 minutes.

The win snapped a three-match losing streak for Eala, who had lost her opening matches in Singapore and Wuhan.

Eala was the more consistent player, hitting 12 winners while committing nine unforced errors for a winner-to-unforced-error ratio of 1.33. Parry, meanwhile, hit 11 winners and made 25 unforced errors, recording a ratio of 0.44.

"I'm very happy with my performance," Eala said in her postmatch interview. "I think it was a really good first round, tough first round.

After a season-long race, the world's top players converge in the California desert with the WTA's biggest title still to be won.

"Diane is a great player and I think she's had a really good year. Congrats to her for the year she's done and really happy to be in the second round. I'm very happy to have won the first round."

As has been the case in nearly all her matches this year, the stadium was packed with Eala's supporters, a turnout she acknowledged in her interview.

"Thank you everyone. Thank you so much for the support. It really makes my job very fun, even in the difficult moments. I'm really happy to be here."

Eala will face either sixth-seeded Diana Shnaider or qualifier Yulia Putintseva in the second round. It would be her first meeting with either player.