Eala awaits Japan Open rival

Alex Eala gets back into the groove as she enters the main draw of the Japan Open in Osaka this week.

The 20-year-old Eala is awaiting who she will face from qualifying round of this Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 250 tournament that features home bet and two-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka.

Entering the Japan Open, Eala is set to face strong opponents who are in the Top 50 of the WTA rankings.

Players such as world No. 9 Elise Mertens of Belgium, world No. 17 Linda Noskova and No. 41 Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic, world No. 27 and Filipino-Canadian netter Leylah Fernandez, world No. 40 Jessica Bouzas Maniero of Spain and world No. 42 Ann Li of the United States are expected to be favorites in the Japan Open.

Also joining the Japan Open are familiar foes like Japanese star Moyuka Uchijima, Emiliana Arango of Colombia, American netter Hailey Baptiste and Spanish player Cristina Bucsa.

Recently, Eala reached a new career-high rank of No. 54 in the WTA standings after competing in three consecutive tournaments in China.

The Rafael Nadal Academy graduate first started her Chinese stint at 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.

She then competed in the Suzhou Open where she fell to Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland, 6-2, 2-6, 6-7 last 3 October.

Eala suffered an early exit in the Wuhan Open after losing to Uchijima, 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, in the first qualifying round last week.

Should Eala be successful, the Japan Open will be the second WTA title of her career since winning the Guadalajara 125 Open in Mexico last September.

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