Alex Eala is putting more weight on her quest in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou as the country’s premier female player opted to skip the US Open which gets going 23 August.
Fresh from winning her fourth professional title in London, Eala said she will not participate in her final Grand Slam of the year so she could focus entirely on her Asian Games campaign.
As of this writing, Eala is competing in the Round of 32 in the W25 Aldershot at the Aldershot Tennis Centre in Aldershot, England, just days after topping the W25 Roehampton.
Eala, ranked No. 248 netter in the Women’s Tennis Association, is also slated to team up with Urszula Radwańska of Poland in women’s doubles play as they face the top-seeded hometown bets Emily Appleton and Lauryn John-Baptiste in the Round of 16.
“Unfortunately, I won’t be in the US Open this year. My schedule is set on other things. I think I will be going to Asia for a couple of tournaments very soon,” Eala said in a television interview.
“Of course, China for the Asian Games. Those are going to be my priorities right now,” she added.
Eala won the US Open title last year at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center after a 6–2, 6–4 victory over Lucie Havlíčková of the Czech Republic in the final.
The graduate of the world-famous Rafael Nadal Academy is looking to make an impact for the national team after skipping the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia last May.
The Hangzhou Asian Games take place from 23 September to 8 October.
