Alex Eala to compete at WTA 1000 Wuhan Open after Suzhou stint

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala will compete at the WTA 1000 Wuhan Open slated from October 6 to 12 after her Suzhou 125 campaign which begins on Tuesday in China.

Delayed by a day, Eala takes on Polish Katarzyna Kawa in the round of 32 at 10 a.m. barring any further delay.

In Wuhan, world no. 58 Eala is listed in the players at the qualifying rounds alongside fellow rising stars Emiliana Arango of Colombia and Hailey Baptiste of the United States.

A 1000-tier tournament like Wuhan Open is a notch lower than the Grand Slams (2000), where Eala already has a direct entry for being in the top 100.

While it sounds ironic, Eala has to go through the qualifiers of the lower-level 1000 events since its draw accommodates 56 players only, less than half of what the Slams take (128).

Players who have direct entries to 1000 events are usually the top 40 to 50 players plus the wildcard entrants like Eala was at the Miami Open last March.

Eala made the most of that opportunity, taking down top players Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, Iga Swiatek, to reach the semifinals.

She emerged as the first Filipino netter to have accomplished that feat and the third wildcard in Miami Open history to have reached the semis.

That catapulted Eala from 140th in the rankings to 75th, paving the way for her direct access to the majors.

This time in Wuhan, though, Eala has to go through the qualifiers to make the main draw.

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