Eala, Latvian partner rule W50 Pune

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala made it up for her early exit in the Australian Open by winning her first professional doubles title in the W50 Pune in India over the weekend.

Eala and Latvian partner Darja Semenistaja hacked out a 7-6 (8), 6-3 win over the top-seeded duo of Naiktha Bains from Great Britain and Fannin Stollar of Hungary.

The Filipino-Latvian tandem came in the tourney as the No. 4 seed but rammed through the opposition highlighted by a comeback from a 4-5 deficit in the first set against the No. 1 pair en route to the win.

Eala, WTA No. 187, and Semenistaja, WTA No. 142, started with a gritty first-round win against Eri Shimizu of Japan and Yu-Yun Li of Chinese Taipei, 6-7, 6-1, 10-7.

They were not to be stopped from there on, beating Jessie Aney of the United States and Germany’s Lena Papadakis, 6-4, 2-6, 10-4, in the quarterfinals, and the Japanese duo of Saki Imamura and Naho Sato, 7-6, 6-3, in the semifinals.

“First doubles title! Thank you Darja,” posted Eala on her social media account.

The 18-year-old Eala, after reaching a career-high ranking at No. 185 to start the season, absorbed a first-round exit in the Australian Open earlier this month against Sweden’s Rebecca Peterson, 6-2, 7-5.

Now, she’s a pro doubles champion, a title added to her growing treasure chest that includes four singles titles in a budding career.