Prozorova Defeats Third-Seeded Eala at WTA Singapore Open

Tatyana Prozorova, ranked 180th in the world and competing under neutral status, pulled off a significant upset by defeating third-seeded Alexandra Eala of the Philippines 4–6, 7–5, 6–3 in the round of 16 of the 2026 WTA 500 Singapore Open on September 24 at OCBC Arena.

Eala, ranked 18th globally and the 2026 WTA 500 champion on hard courts from Washington, entered as a heavy favorite with betting odds of 1.23 compared to Prozorova's 4.28. However, after 18 days away from competitive tennis, Eala struggled to find rhythm, particularly on return of serve in the opening stages. Prozorova capitalized on this slow start, breaking Eala's serve early to establish a 3–1 lead in the first set.

The match remained tightly contested throughout. Eala mounted a four-game surge in the first set, from trailing 1–3 to reach 5–3, but Prozorova held serve to force Eala to serve for the set at 5–4. Eala eventually secured the first set 6–4 after requiring seven set points to convert. The second set featured continuous momentum swings with both players trading breaks before Prozorova claimed a decisive break in the 12th game to force a third set.

Prozorova dominated the deciding set, building an early 2–0 lead with a break in the second game. Although Eala broke back to level at 2–2, Prozorova's superior consistency prevailed. After more than three hours of play, Prozorova sealed the victory with a break in the eighth game and held serve to complete the match.

With this advance, Prozorova will face China's Xinyu Wang in the third round. Eala will next compete at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya. Prozorova, aged 22, has not won any WTA titles; her best Grand Slam result was qualifying for the 2023 US Open, where she lost in the first round. She competes under neutral status following the International Tennis Federation's March 1, 2022 suspension of Russian and Belarusian tennis federation memberships.