Eala starts Asian swing against Falei at Jingshan Open

ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA begins her Asian swing as the No. 1 seed against Aliona Falei of Belarus at the WTA125 Jingshan Open in China Monday.

Game time is at 10 a.m. (Manila time) with the WTA No. 57 Ms. Eala looking to weave her magic anew in Asia with multiple stops closer to home after a productive campaign in the Americas.

Ms. Eala, 20, will be up against a fellow teen rising star in the 21-year-old Ms. Falei, who’s way behind the world rankings at No. 323.

The Filipina pride also has a week-long break plus an extra motivation of short homecoming to bank on in taking care of business for a quick seat in the Round of 16.

That’s on top of an all-time momentum from the United States, Mexico and Brazil marked by seven straight wins and a breakthrough WTA title.

After becoming the first Filipina winner in any Grand Slam (US Open) main draw, Ms. Eala also brought home the first WTA title ever for Philippine tennis by reigning supreme in the WTA125 Guadalajara Open in Mexico with five straight wins.

She scored two more wins in the WTA250 Sao Paulo Open in Brazil but exited in the quarterfinals against fellow Southeast Asian star Janice Tjen of Indonesia.

Now up for an Asian swing that will also include stops in the WTA125 Suzhou Open on Sept. 29 to Oct. 5 and the Hong Kong Open on Oct. 27 to Nov. 2, Ms. Eala is hoping to barge into the Top 50 for the first time ever.

Her previous career-high is at No. 56 following a runner-up finish in the Eastbourne Open in England. — John Bryan Ulanday