FILIPINO teen tennis ace Alex M. Eala begins her 2021 US Open Juniors tennis championships campaign this week, looking to build on the successes she has had to date and develop her game.
Ms. Eala, 16, a Rafa Nadal Academy scholar, earned the second seed in the competition to be held at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City from Sept. 6 to 11.
The Philippine bet has earned a bye in the opening round and will start play in the Round of 32 where she will take on either Pimrada Jattavapornvanit of Thailand or Charlotte Owensby of the United States.
In the US Open, Ms. Eala, the number two juniors player in the world, seeks another Grand Slam title after winning a couple of championships in doubles play — the 2020 Australian Open Juniors Doubles with Indonesian partner Priska Nugroho and 2021 French Open Juniors Doubles with Russian partner Oksana Selekhmeteva.
She also competed in the Wimbledon early this year, both in the singles and doubles events, but fell short each time in the second round.
Ms. Eala is currently ranked 754th in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) singles rankings.
The US Open juniors tournament makes a return this year after the event was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo