Alex Eala adds the Parma Ladies Open to her hectic schedule as she continues to compete during the clay season.

The Parma Ladies Open will take place from 11 to 17 May in Parma, Italy, and is considered one of the top tournaments leading up to the French Open from 24 May to 7 June.

For now, the 20-year-old Eala will be setting her sights on the Madrid Open, which starts on Monday in Spain.

The Rafael Nadal Academy graduate will also join the Italian Open, which starts on 5 May, and her run there will determine if she will compete in Parma or not.

Former British No. 1 Greg Rusedski said Eala will only continue to get better as she is also training with world No. 3 Iga Swiatek of Poland.

“For me, I’m always optimistic about her. I always think she’s challenging herself,” Rusedski said.

“She has a great team of people around her. She’s fully committed, and she’s got great support.”

Rusedski, a finalist in the 1997 US Open, said Eala can only go higher as she has yet to win a major trophy on the WTA Tour.

“She’s gonna get stronger physically, she’s gonna get more tactically astute, she’s gonna start hitting the ball harder, and she’s got a great training facility. So there’s no reason why she can’t add those areas,” Rusedski said.

“The team around her is very good. When you have Rafa as your adviser, it doesn’t get any better.”

Eala, currently sitting at No. 45, is doing everything she can as she slowly climbs her way back into the top 32 of the Women’s Tennis Association rankings.

Her career-best rank was No. 29 back in February but it plummeted after losing to Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in the Round of 16 of the Miami Open last March.