ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA will plunge back to action with a splash, officially becoming the No. 3 seed in the Singapore Open as the first tournament of the highly anticipated Asian Swing this week.
The 21-year-old Filipina pride will head straight into the Round of 16 with a first-round bye, looking for a deep run in her first campaign back after a third-round finish in the US Open earlier this month.
Ranked No. 18 in the world, Ms. Eala is next only to WTA No. 5 Mirra Andreeva of Russia and No. 11 Amanda Anisimova of the United States as the first two seeds in the 500-level tourney.
Ms. Eala will face either No. 165 Tatiana Prozorova of Russia or No. 150 Sofia Costoulas of Belgium in the second round slated on Wednesday.
The lefty ace, then still outside Top 100, will have some unfinished business to settle in Singapore after a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Simona Waltert of Switzerland in the qualifying round last year.
Ms. Eala, now inside the world’s Top 20, is eligible for direct entry in all main draws of the WTA Tour levels, from the 125 challengers to the 250s, 500s, 1000s and especially Grand Slams.
But there’s more to it than just vengeance for Ms. Eala, who is out to prime up for the Asian Games on Sept. 27 to Oct. 2 in Nagoya, Japan.
Ms. Eala is out to improve on her two bronze medals in women’s and mixed doubles events of the 2023 Hangzhou Games.
This time, Ms. Eala will play in the women’s singles and women’s doubles, projected as the heavy title favorite as the highest-ranked WTA player and especially with the absence of reigning gold medalist Zheng Qinwen.
At the expense of going for it, however, is a possible $10,000 fine from the WTA for skipping the China Open in Beijing, one of the mandatory 1000-level tourneys in the WTA Tour calendar.
The Philippine Tennis Association has already written a request for an exemption waiver for Ms. Eala to the WTA, which has not responded yet.
Albeit not in the China Open in Beijing, Ms. Eala is listed in the Wuhan Open after her Asian Games campaign on Oct. 12 to 18. — John Bryan Ulanday