As Abu Dhabi run ends, Eala joins Swiatek, Gauff, Rybakina in star-studded Qatar Open
At A Glance
- A few days after her run in Abu Dhabi, Alex Eala continues her Middle East swing as she competes in the star-packed WTA 1000 Qatar Open which fires off Sunday, Feb. 8, at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha.
(Alex Eala IG post)
A few days after her run in Abu Dhabi, Alex Eala continues her Middle East swing as she competes in the star-packed WTA 1000 Qatar Open which fires off Sunday, Feb. 8, at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha.
The 20-year-old Eala tries to make waves anew in a heavyweight field featuring world’s Top Five players, including No. 4 American and reigning champion Amanda Anisimova.
Eala is unseeded and will face a qualifier in round of 64 of the seven-day meet that has a staggering $4,088,211 (P239,205,313) prize pool.
Aside from Anisimova (3), Polish Iga Swiatek (1), Kazakh Elena Rybakina (2), who is fresh off her Australian Open win, American Coco Gauff (4), Russian wunderkind Mirra Andreeva (5), Italian Jasmine Paolini, and Ukrainian Elina Svitolina (7), to list a few, headline the tournament.
The Filipina pride, however, didn’t take part in the tournament’s doubles event.
Also entering the fray is Eala’s Abu Dhabi doubles partner Indonesian Janice Tjen. The two Southeast Asian netters went splendid, but came up short in the semifinal to Slovakian Tereza Mihalíková and British Olivia Nicholls, 4-6, 2-6.
Before diving into action in Doha, the Filipina tennis ace made a promising stint in the UAE capital where, apart from the doubles semis, reached the singles quarters but yielded to eventual finalist Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Those feats helped Eala hike her rankings to a career-best No. 39 with 1244 points in the WTA live rankings.
As Qatar Open runs from Feb. 8 to 15, the charming 5-foot-9 lefty is anticipated to return to the UAE as she has committed to vie in the WTA 1000 Dubai Tennis Championships slated Feb. 15 to 21.
Eala to compete in prestigious ‘Fifth Grand Slam’
With her rise on the global tennis stage, Eala makes another history for the Philippines as she gets included in the prestigious Indian Wells Open (BNP Paribas) in California scheduled March 4 to 15.
It is dubbed by many as “Fifth Grand Slam” with the attention it has and its record-breaking attendance from the past years since its first installation in 1974.
Then it will be followed by a WTA 1000 event as well in Miami Open, where Eala turned heads off her giant-slaying ways last year, which takes place from March 17 to 29 in Florida.