Alex Eala is moving forward following a surprise early exit in the Wuhan Open as she trains her sights on the Japan Open which starts 13 October in Osaka.

The 20-year-old Eala lost to No. 92 Moyuka Uchijima in the first round of the qualifiers, 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, and can afford to recharge her batteries in preparation for the tough grind in Japan.

The Rafael Nadal Academy graduate first competed in the Jingshan Tennis Open last September where she made it all the way to the semifinal before bowing down to Lulu Sun of New Zealand, 6-3, 4-6, 2-6.

At the Suzhou Open, Eala got into the quarterfinal but fell to Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland, 6-2, 2-6, 6-7 before making her way to Wuhan.

Eala is poised to rise in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings soon after her performances despite falling short of a trophy.

In fact, she reached No. 54 in the WTA live rankings and might even be higher by the time she competes in the Japan Open.

Joining Eala in the WTA 250 tilt are world No. 9 Elise Mertens of Belgium, No. 25 Leylah Fernandez of Canada, No. 27 Linda Noskova of Czech Republic, No. 28 Cristina Bucsa and No. 48 Jessica Maneiro of Spain, No. 37 Iva Jovic of the United States and No. 51 Hailey Baptiste of the United States, No. 41 Lois Boisson of France, and 50 Emiliana Arango of Colombia. 

Completing the roster are world No. 42 Jaqueline Cristian of Romania, No. 43 Olga Danilovic of Serbia, No. 45 Ashlyn Krueger of the United States, No. 47 Ann Li and No. 60 Alycia Parks of the United States, No. 52 Marie Bouzkova of Czech Republic, No. 54 Katie Boulter of Great Britain No. 55 Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia, No. 56 Marika Sakkari of Greece and defending champion Suzan Lamens of the Netherlands.

After the Japan Open, Eala will fly back to China for the Guangzhou Open from 20 to 26 October and at the Hong Kong Open from 27 October to 2 November. 

Eala could also fly to Thailand and compete for the national team in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games from 9 to 20 December.