Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala takes her first step for a crack to enter the main draw of the Australian Open on Tuesday in Melbourne.
The 18-year-old netter hopes that there will be no repeat of her season-opening Grand Slam qualifying debut last year as she takes on No. 128 Rebecca Peterson of Sweden in her first women’s singles match.
Eala arrived in Melbourne last Friday after an unsuccessful stint in her warm up tourney.
The Rafael Nadal Academy graduate needs to win three matches in the qualifying round to make it to the main draw of the Australian Open.
Eala played in the Canberra International last week to prime up for her goal to enter her first-ever Grand Slam as a pro.
Unfortunately, she bombed out early in the women’s singles after suffering a 4-6, 5-7 loss to Celine Naef of Switzerland.
Eala, however, reached as far as the semifinal with Brazilian teammate Laura Pigossi of the doubles before absorbing a 6-7, 3-6 beating at the hands of top seed Aussie pair of Astra Sharma and Kaylah McPhee.
Despite the setbacks, Eala will come into the qualifier oozing with confidence after reaching a career-best Women’s Tennis Association No. 185 rank.
Last year, Eala had an early exit in the qualifying round after losing 6-4, 6-7, 3-6, Japan’s Misaki Doi.
The 5-foot-9 Eala would eventually win two professional titles, the W25 Yecla in Spain and the W25 Roehampton in England, and bag two bronze medals in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China for a successful 2023 season.
Eala aims to join all four Grand Slams this season after skipping the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open last year.
