Alex Eala is gearing for a tough campaign in the US Open women’s singles qualifying rounds two years after becoming the first Filipina to capture the juniors championship of the same tournament. 

The 19-year-old Filipina is taking on Australian Maddison Inglis on early Wednesday, Aug. 21 at 2:55 a.m. (Manila time) to kick off her quest in the highly competitive hardcourt tournament held in New York. 

Eala, then 17, emerged as the 2022 US Open girls’ singles winner after taking down higher-ranked seed Lucie Havlickova from the Czech Republic in the final. 

But the Filipina tennis ace has since played some of her best tennis games and secured multiple pro career titles and accomplished near historic feats this year after reaching the third round of the main draw of two Grand Slam events in Roland Garros and Wimbledon Championships. 

Last month, Eala jumped to a career-high 143rd rank after a dominant showing that saw her claim the W100 singles and doubles titles on Spanish soil. 

“So excited for my first professional US Open,” she wrote on social media. 

Heading back to the United States, the Rafa Nadal Academy graduate also recently made back-to-back quarterfinal appearances in ITF tournaments in Pennsylvania and North Carolina as part of her buildup to the US Open.