Filipino tennis star Alex Eala and Darja Semenistaja of Latvia hurled Japan’s Saki Imamura and Naho Sato, 7-6, 6-3, in the semifinals to get a crack at the W50 Pune women’s doubles title late Friday at the Deccan Gymkhana in India.
It took the pair just an hour and 52 minutes to advance to the finals as Eala neared her first professional title of the year.
The 18-year-old Pinay has reached an ITF doubles finale for the first time since the 2021 Platja d’Aro tilt in Spain.
Eala and Semenistaja are playing Naiktha Bains of the United Kingdom and Hungary’s Fanny Stollar, as of press time.
Eala has earlier bombed out of the singles competition after bowing to Semenistaja, 7-6, 6-0.
After this tournament, Eala will play in the main draw of the W50 Indore from 29 January to 4 February also in India.
The 5-foot-9 netter will then compete in the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open running from 3 to 11 February at the International Tennis Centre in Zayed Sports City in the United Arab Emirates.
Eala currently sits at No. 187 in the latest Women’s Tennis Association rankings.
