Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala booked her spot in the semifinals of the Workday Canberra International women’s singles Thursday after a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over home bet Taylah Preston at the Canberra Tennis Centre in Australia.

Eala needed one hour and 52 minutes to send her Australian foe packing.

The 19-year-old netter defeated Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands, 6-3, 6-3, in the Round of 16 last Wednesday to kick off the new year with a big bang.

Eala’s opponent in the semifinal has yet to be named at press time.

It is being contested between World No. 134 Sijia Wei of China and World No. 176 Simona Waltert of Switzerland.

The match will be held on Saturday.

Eala is not only gunning for her first singles title in 2025 but also boosting her Women’s Tennis Association rankings.

This is so that she would have a higher chance of getting invited to the Australian Open on 9 January.

In last year’s Grand Slam, Eala suffered an early exit after a 2-6, 5-7 loss to Rebecca Peterson of Sweden in the first qualifying round.