Eala faces Valentova of Czechia in Round 1 of WTA 1000 Qatar Open

ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA will start her climb to the steeper WTA 1000 Qatar Open against a familiar foe in Tereza Valentova of Czechia in Round 1, eyeing a sweet revenge after bowing via sweep last time out.

The Doha tournament, WTA’s first 1000-level event this season, already got going on Sunday at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex with Ms. Eala being assigned to Day 2 against a qualifier that ultimately became Ms. Valentova.

Ms. Valentova, a twin-champion in both the 2024 French Open girls’ singles and doubles, lived up to her lofty billing as the No. 1 seed in the qualifiers by beating Aussie Arina Rodionova (WTA No. 210) 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(3), and German Ella Seidel (WTA No. 83) to advance to the main draw.

“Thank you, Abu Dhabi. A time was had. Next stop, Doha,” said Ms. Eala on Sunday, sharing a series of scenic views upon arriving at the Qatari capital, including a photo with close friend Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey.

Mses. Eala and Valentova are shoulder to shoulder in the WTA rankings — Ms. Eala at No. 45 and Ms. Valentova at No. 44 — making it one of the interesting matchups in the 64-player main draw featuring a bevy of byes for top seeds.

Game time and court assignment are yet to be determined but the 20-year-old Filipina pride has nothing bigger in mind than to exact vengeance after absorbing a 6-1, 6-2 defeat in the Japan Women’s Open last year.

Should Ms. Eala pass the test of the 18-year-old Czech, she would be in for a possible clash against 2023 French Open finalist, world No. 19 and Qatar’s No. 14 seed Karolina Muchova of Russia, who’s up against No. 35 Jaqueline Cristian of Romania in the Round of 64.

World No. 4 and reigning champion Amanda Anisimova (No. 3 seed) of the United States then is projected to wait by the third round of the loaded upper bracket that also includes world No. 2 and six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek of Poland, No. 8 Jasmine Paolini of Italy, No. 10 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and No. 12 Linda Noskova of Czechia.

Ms. Eala’s good friends in Ms. Sonmez, WTA No. 49, and Janice Tjen of Indonesia, WTA No. 47, are also in the same bracket as newly-minted Australian Open champion and No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan headlines the bottom half.

The lefty sensation is expected to be buoyed by a strong Filipino crowd once again similar to the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi, where she beat Ms. Sonmez en route to the quarterfinal stint and teamed up with Ms. Tjen for a double semifinal finish.

Abu Dhabi became Ms. Eala’s third straight playoff appearance to kick off the season with a bang after a final four finish in the WTA 250 ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand and Last 8 stint in the WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open.

It will be the first WTA 1000 tournament for Ms. Eala, who also had her Australian Open main draw and ruled the Kooyong Classic exhibition in Melbourne last month, as direct entry after a magical run in the 2025 Miami Open as a wildcard.

That campaign marked by wins against the likes of Ms. Swiatek, Madison Keys and Jelena Ostapenko — all Grand Slam champions — skyrocketed Ms. Eala’s career to enter the Top 100 and later on Top 50.

As per the WTA live rankings, Ms. Eala is currently at No. 40 leading to Doha with 1244 points and could rise higher given another deep campaign.

At stake in Doha is at least 65 ranking points and $26,000 purse if Ms. Eala reaches the second round, possibly getting her to Top 35. She’d settle for 10 points and $18,300 with an early boot for a plateau at Top 40-45.

Ms. Eala faces a busy stretch after Doha, strutting her stuff back in the United Arab Emirates at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Feb. 15 to 21 and the Indian Wells (BNP Paribas Open) on March 4 to 15 before a grand return in the Miami Open on March 17 to 29. — John Bryan Ulanday