FAMILIAR FACES stand in the way of Alexandra “Alex” Eala to start her final buildup for the US Open.
Armed with her highest seeding in any WTA 1000 tour ever, Ms. Eala will tangle with either Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania or Magda Linette of Poland in Round 2 of the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open at Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.
Ms. Eala will have a first-round bye as the No. 17 seed, getting an extra day of preparation to await the winner in the Round of 64. She’s expected to plunge back to action on Friday, depending on the first-round schedule.
It will not be a walk in the park for her return though, not having a winning record against either of the opponent in Round 2.
The 21-year-old Filipina pride is 0-1 against Ms. Ruse, WTA No. 77, absorbing a 6-3, 1-6, 4-6 loss in the 2024 US Open qualifiers. Against Ms. Linette, she lost the first two before fighting back this year for an even 2-2 slate.
She bowed to the 68th ranked Polish in the 2024 Abu Dhabi Open (6-7, 1-6) and 2025 Nottingham Open (4-6, 3-6) then returned the favor in the ASB Classic in Auckland (6-3, 6-2) and Miami Open (6-3, 7-6) this year.
Ranked No. 20 in the world, Ms. Eala moved higher in the seedings due to the withdrawal of higher-ranked players like No. 6 Karolina Muchova of Czechia, No. 12 Victoria Mboko of Canada and No. 15 Jasmine Paolini of Italy, who are recovering from injuries.
But that doesn’t mean an easy ride.
After either Ms. Ruse or Ms. Linette, the climb will only get tougher for Ms. Eala in the succeeding rounds just to get a shot at her second pro title and first in the WTA 1000 tour level in time for her US Open stint on Aug. 30 to Sept. 13 in Flushing Meadows, New York.
Ms. Eala won her maiden WTA Tour crown in the WTA 500 Mubadala DC Open in Washington, D.C., earlier this month for a flying start to her US Open preparations.
In Cincinnati, analyst projections have world No. 10 Amanda Anisimova of the United States by the third round and No. 7 Linda Noskova of Czechia, eager for a rebound after an early exit in Toronto, by Round 4 awaiting for Ms. Eala.
Then it would probably be world No. 3 Jessica Pegula of the United States, No. 8 Iga Swiatek of Poland and No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals, respectively.
Good thing for Ms. Eala, she has almost a week of a much-needed breather to heal her minor ankle injury, recover and recharge after a Round of 16 finish in the WTA 1000 National Bank Open in Toronto, Canada marked by seven straight wins from D.C.
That’s the longest winning streak in her blooming career and the longest active spree among players on the WTA Tour at the time.
“Ang saya pala dito sa Barangay Toronto. Difficult to put into words but very easy to be grateful for you all,” said Ms. Eala on her social media post on Thursday after leaving the Canadian business capital to continue her campaign back in the US.
“Feeling the love in ways that I will probably only fully appreciate later. Thank you for allowing me to experience beyond what I know. I am quite the lucky one.”
Despite another adversity though, Ms. Eala is expected to enjoy a huge crowd behind her in Cincinnati like the massive support she had in every city she’s in as now one of the world tennis crowd darlings. — John Bryan Ulanday