Eala secures Indian Wells passage into Round of 64

Alex Eala has yet to step foot into the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in California but she has already advanced to the Round of 64 of the BNP Paribas Open, which starts on Wednesday.

Thanks to her lofty No. 31 ranking in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), the 20-year-old Eala earned a bye and will be making her debut in Indian Wells fully refreshed and energized for the “fifth Grand Slam.”

Also earning a bye in the BNP Paribas Open are world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland as well as No. 3 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, No. 4 Coco Gauff and No. 5 and American netter Jessica Pegula.

WTA 1000-level tournaments like the BNP Paribas Open starts at the Round of 128, making it a difficult trek for any player aspiring for the top prize.

Rank changes after 23 February won’t affect the seedings of the tournament so Eala will still earn a bye if her ranking takes a dip before the competition.

Earning a bye in one of the biggest WTA tournaments was a testament to Eala’s perseverance since last year.

Prior to her breakout performance in the Miami Open last year, the Rafael Nadal Academy alumna would rarely get into prestigious top tier competitions and would often rely on wildcard entries as she placed outside of the Top 100 in the WTA.

The BNP Paribas Open champion will earn 1,000 ranking points and $1.15 million or around P66.4 million.

Eala hopes to bring the momentum she had at the Dubai Tennis Championships last month where she made it as far as the quarterfinal before losing to world No. 4 Coco Gauff of the United States.