Alex Eala aims to bounce back from her early exit in the Australian Open when she competes in the Women’s Tennis Association 250 Thailand Open on 30 January in Hua Hin, Thailand.
This will be the 17-year-old’s first WTA tournament of the year.
In her last outing, Eala dropped a 6-4, 6-7, 3-6 decision to Misaki Doi of Japan in the qualifying round of the women’s singles in Melbourne Park.
Eala is currently back at No. 214, her best rank in her career, in the latest WTA rankings.
The scholar of the Rafael Nadal Academy admitted she still has to learn to think with her feet whenever she is playing in the professional ranks after her recent loss in the Australian Open.
“It was all a big learning process for me, especially that match for me (against Doi). I think I need to learn to adapt quicker in certain situations,” Eala said.
“I’ve been preparing really hard here so I will be going there confident and I’m just going to do everything I can.”
Eala is returning to the site where she won her second professional title when she dominated the W25 Chiang Rai in Thailand last April.
It isn’t sure if Eala will play her final year in the junior ranks.
Last year, she won the junior girls’ title at the US Open after beating Lucie Havlickova from the Czech Republic in the final.
“Everything’s really up in the air right now. One of the reasons I skipped the juniors in Australia was my main goal was to focus on my priorities on the women’s circuit,” Eala said.
“We need to see if, in the future, it will also collide with other tournaments that could be a priority.”
