Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala braces for a bevy of tougher opponents as she made it to the main draw of the Miami Open as a wildcard.

Eala, 19, was announced as one of the wild card entries of the tournament that also features world No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland.

This will be the fifth time Eala will be competing in the Miami Open since 2021.

The other wildcard entries for the Miami Open are Grand Slam champions Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic and Sloan Stephens of the United States. Rounding up the cast of wild cards are Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia, Victoria Mboko of Canada, Tyra Grant of the US and Sayaka Ishii of Japan.

This year’s Miami Open will be held from 16 to 30 March at the Hard Rock Stadium.

Eala hopes to do better this time in the Miami Open as her farthest run was at the round of 128 where she lost to Irina-Camelia Begu od Romania, 2-6, 5-7.

The Asian Games bronze medalist is competing in the W75 Trnava in Slovakia as she is facing Valentina Ryser of Switzerland at press time.

Eala said more than making history, she wants to be a beacon to the Filipino, especially to young girls who want to follow in her footsteps.

“Competing on tour and representing the Philippines means everything to me. Being a professional tennis player, and the only Filipina on tour, where I come from is such a big part of my identity,” Eala said.

“I’m so proud to be a Filipino. It’s such a privilege to be able to represent the country. My goal is to inspire young women to take up sports, to take up tennis, to do what they love, and to follow their dreams.”