Alex Eala returns to action, faces Polish rival in Suzhou WTA 125

There will be no rest for Filipina tennis sensation Alex Eala as she returns to action on Tuesday, Sept. 30, at the Suzhou WTA 125 tournament in China.

The 20-year-old Alex Eala is seeded fourth in the WTA 125 tournament, which offers a total prize purse of $115,000.

She enters the event with a live WTA singles ranking of No. 57 -- one spot higher than last week -- following her semifinal finish at the Jingshan Tennis Open, another WTA 125 tournament held in China.

Eala, the only Top 100 player in that draw, reached the semifinals before falling to Lulu Sun in a hard-fought three-set match.

In Suzhou, she is set to face 32-year-old Polish player Katarzyna Kawa, who is currently ranked No. 124 in the world.

This will be the second meeting between Eala and Kawa, with their first encounter taking place three years ago at the W60 Templeton event on the International Tennis Federation circuit, where the Polish player won in three sets.

Both players have improved since then, particularly Eala, who has remained steady in the Top 100 following her breakthrough performance at the Miami Open earlier this year. She also celebrated her maiden WTA title with a victory at the Guadalajara Open earlier this month.

Kawa, meanwhile, is coming off a stint at the China Open, where she lost in the second round of the qualifiers.

World No. 37 Iva Jovic banners the field with her top seeding, while also seeing action are world No. 44 Tatjana Maria, third seed Suzan Lamens and Sun -- the same rival that beat Eala in her last tournament.

Click here to read article