Alex Eala in action at home? WTA adds Philippine stop

MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala gets a chance to dazzle at home as the WTA Tour finally includes a stop in the country.

Following a historic year that saw her climb to the top 50 in the world, Eala is expected to banner the Philippine Women’s Open slated from January 26 to 31.

The tournament is a WTA 125 event and will feature 32 singles and 16 doubles players.

But there is a possible schedule conflict for Eala as she is also scheduled to compete in the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year that will run from January 12 to February 1.

It will be the first Australian Open main draw appearance for Eala, who has earned automatic entry to all of the four Grand Slams by virtue of being in the top 100.

Eala never made it past the first round of the Australian Open qualifiers in three tries, losing to Croatia’s Jana Fett last year.

That early exit, though, followed a meteoric rise as Eala reached the semifinals of the Miami Open, becoming the first Filipina to do so in a WTA 1000 event, and she cracked the top 100 for the first time.

Eala continued her ascension in the world rankings as she advanced to her first WTA final in the Eastbourne Open, claimed her first Grand Slam win by beating Denmark’s Clara Tauson in the US Open, then won her first WTA Challenger title by ruling the Guadalajara Open.

But before she turns her focus on next year, Eala still has a couple of events lined up for 2025.

The 20-year-old might she action in the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand and she is lined up for the Macau Masters, with both contests happening in December. – Rappler.com