Eala brings act to Germany

Alex Eala takes her talents to Germany as she competes at the Stuttgart Open starting on Monday.

The 20-year-old Eala continues her clay season as she joins another Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 500 tournament.

The Rafael Nadal Academy graduate is coming off a Round of 16 exit at the Linz Open last week where she suffered a 4-6, 5-7 loss to world No. 23 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia last Wednesday.

Initially, Eala was supposed to go through the qualifying rounds and earn her way into the main draw.

However, she was upgraded into the main draw after No. 37 Zheng Qinwen withdrew from the competition due to an injury.

Like the Linz Open, it will be Eala’s debut in the Stuttgart Open as she gears up for the Mutua Madrid Open in Spain from 21 April to 3 May.

The Stuttgart Open could be Eala’s toughest WTA 500 tournament to date with No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, No. 3 Iga Swiatek of Poland and No. 4 Coco Gauff of the United States beefing up the competition.

Ostapenko is also expected to compete in Stuttgart as she defends the title she won last year.

Eala is doing her best to collect points and return to the Top 32 of the WTA after dropping to No. 46.