Eala joins the Strasbourg main draw as replacement to Baptiste

ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA will come in as a late replacement against a qualifier in the main draw of the WTA 500 Strasbourg Open as she enters the final stage of her French Open buildup.

Ms. Eala, listed as No. 1 in the qualifying list, replaced her former doubles partner Hailey Baptiste of the United States, who pulled out on Sunday, for a sudden jump in the main tournament.

Strasbourg is serving as the pre-tourney for the Roland Garros set on May 24 to June 7 in Paris.

The Strasbourg qualifiers is yet to reach its final phase, giving Ms. Eala an ample time to plot her attack and refine her bearings from a week-long break on the heels of her breakthrough campaign in the Italian Open.

The 20-year-old Ms. Eala for the first time ever reached the third round of a clay tournament, where she bowed to world No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, 6-4, 6-3.

Ms. Eala and Ms. Baptiste also played in the Italian Open doubles where they folded to Czechia’s Katerina Siniakova (doubles world No. 1) and USA’s Taylor Townsend (doubles world No. 2), 6-2, 6-1, in Round 1.

Either Ms. Siniakova, WTA singles No. 39, or her compatriot Marie Bouzkova, WTA No. 26, will be Ms. Eala’s opponent in Strasbourg second round should she hurdle the still-to-be-determined qualifier.

The Strasbourg will be Ms. Eala’s fifth clay stint that should serve her well in a bid to score a deep run in the queen of clay after a Round of 128 exit in her main draw debut last year against Colombia’s Emiliana Arango, 0-6, 6-2, 3-6.

She also vied in the Upper Austria Ladies Linz Open in Austria (second round), the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany (first round) and the Mutua Madrid Open (second round).

Before the French Open and Strasbourg though, Ms. Eala is expected to climb to No. 38 from No. 42 with 1340 points according to the WTA live rankings after gaining 55 points from a strong showing in Rome.

Ms. Eala will also play in the doubles of the Roland Garros with the 19-year old Canadian star Victoria Mboko, the world No. 9 and the No. 1 seed in Strasbourg.

It will be the first team- up for the two rising stars after two meetings in their young careers. — John Bryan Ulanday