Alex Eala’s run at the  Italian Open has come to an end after she was beaten 6-4, 6-3 by world No 2  Elena Rybakina, with the Filipia star turning in an encouraging performance despite her defeat.

Eala has struggled to find her feet on red dirt in her opening matches of the clay court season, but she showed she could live with big-hitting Rybakina for long periods of their contest in Rome.

While she was rocked onto the back foot at times, Eala showed flashes of brilliance that will give her encouragement heading in the  French Open and she could still play another tournament ahead of Roland Garros is she feels fit and healthy after her three matches in Italy.

Eala’s run in Rome secured her prize money of $54,176 and she will also collect 130 ranking points.

That will push her up to No 38 in the live WTA Rankings and she is knocking on the door of a seeded position for the upcoming Grand Slams at the French Open and Wimbledon.

She is one place behind Britain’s Emma Raducanu in the live rankings and is likely to overtake the 2021 US Open champion soon, as she is struggling to get on court due to an ongoing virus.

After suffering a slip in the rankings in March after she failed to match her run to the Miami Open semi-finals last year, Eala is trying to climb back up the rankings and if she can get to No 32 or above, the Grand Slam seeding will be secured once again.

Eala is still very much at the formative stage of her career at the age of 20, with former British No 1 Greg Rusedski suggesting her biggest challenge will come against the game power hitters like Rybakina.

Speaking on the Off Court Cuts episode of his podcast, Rusedski assessed Eala’s clay-court season so far and the convincing nature of her last two defeats.

“Well, it’s the harder hitters. It’s being on tour week in and week out. And you’re going to take some bruising losses,” said the 1997 US Open runner-up.

“If you look at the one she lost the week previous in Stuttgart to Leylah Fernandez… I mean, she (Fernandez) pushed Rybakina all the way.

“So, the losses she (Eala) takes are not bad losses, it’s sometimes the scorelines. And this is part of the learning experience.

“She’s too good a player, she’ll figure it out and what I like is her resilience.

“If you’re an Eala fan, just be a little patient. It might take a little bit longer for her, but she’s got a great team of people around her. And she’s got to find solutions. So don’t get too discouraged.

“For me, I’m always optimistic about her.I always think she’s challenging herself. She has a great team of people around her. She’s fully committed and she’s got great support.

“And everything’s kind of new at the moment. We’ve talked about, yes, the serve needs to be better. Yes, when she comes [up against] a big hitter, sometimes she struggles and gets hit off the court. But you gotta consistently put yourself out there.

“She’s gonna get stronger physically, she’s gonna get more tactically astute, she’s gonna start hitting the ball harder.”