Alex Eala tries her luck in the women’s doubles as she joins forces with Nadiia Kichenok of Ukraine at the Guangzhou Open in China this week starting on Monday.

Eala and Kichenok take on home bet Tang Qianhui and Emily Appleton of Great Britain in the Round of 16 of the women’s doubles at 10 a.m. (Manila time)

The 20-year-old Rafael Nadal Academy graduate is coming off an early exit in the women’s singles of the Japan Open in Osaka last Tuesday after a 1-6, 2-6 loss to Tereza Valentova of the Czech Republic in the Round of 32.

Kichenok won’t be some ordinary tennis partner for Eala as she has made the quarterfinal of the Tokyo and Paris Olympics in the women’s doubles.

The 33-year-old Ukrainian boasts 24 International Tennis Federation trophies and 11 WTA doubles titles in her career.

The last time Eala competed in a doubles tournament was back in June in the Wimbledon Championships.

She joined forces with Eva Sys of Germany but were booted out in the first round after a 4-6, 2-6 loss to Ingrid Martins of Brazil and Quinn Gleason of the United States.

Should Eala be successful, it will be her first doubles title since 2024 when she and Victoria Jiménez Kasintseva of Andorra captured the W100 Vitoria-Gasteiz trophy.

After her Guangzhou stint, Eala is set to join the Hong Kong Open starting on 27 October.