Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala commenced her 2024 campaign from a career-best position, listed as the 185th female of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Four places higher than her October 2023 finish, the 18-year-old concluded her season bowing to 145th ranked Celine Naef of Switzerland, 4-6, 5-7, at the Canberra International last December 31, 2023.
Instagram: @alex.eala
Before her December tourney, Eala garnered runner-up and semi-final finishes at The International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) France 22A and Luxembourg 01A legs in November 2023. This past year, the Rafael Nadal Academy scholar captured four ITF Circuit wins, noting a commendable display against former world-ranked 58 Jaqueline Adina Cristian in Spain 15A’s round of 32.
Eala booked her ticket to the 2024 Australian Open Qualifiers for her commanding performances, centered on the goal of competing in “all four Grand Slams” of the sport, as she remains focused on the task at hand.
“I’m trying to look at short-term so ngayon (now), I’m preparing for Australian Open 2024. I’ll be joining the qualifying on January 8…that is my big focus right now,” she mentioned.
Reuniting with her family for the holidays, Eala eyes a return to the Melbourne stage, failing to reach the tournament’s main draw in the previous year. Bannered by 2021 US Open titleholder Emma Raducanu, former World No. 5 and 2012 Roland Garros finalist Sara Errani, and Chinese Taipei veteran Hsieh Su-wei, she hopes to emerge on the main draw come January 14 to 28, 2024.
