Alex Eala fought back a close opening set and survived Slovakia’s Mia Chudejova, 7-6 (2), 6-3, to advance to the third round qualifying in the W25 Manacor event in Spain Monday.
Eala, 16, held her ground against her 18-year-old rival to inch one win away from earning a main draw berth in the $25,000 tournament.
“It’s good to be back competing,” Eala wrote on her social media page.
The win set up Eala a crucial meet with France’s Alice Rame, who blanked Italy’s Margherita Viglietti, 6-0, 6-0.
Rame, 24, is seeded No. 1 in the three-round qualifying while Eala is at no. 11.
The French player is currently ranked no. 375 in the WTA compared to Eala’s No. 526.
Her last ITF singles win, however, came in 2019 in the W15 Tabarka in Tunisia.