Eala staying focused despite setback

Alex Eala isn’t done with her Spanish expedition yet as she will be competing in the Catalonia Open from 27 April to 3 May.

After losing to world No. 21 Elise Mertens of Belgium, 2-6, 1-6, in the Round of 64 of the Madrid Open last Friday, the 20-year-old Eala will be looking to bounce back in her singles stint as she joins the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 125 event.

However, it will all depend on her doubles run in the Madrid Open as she and No. 67 Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey will compete in the Round of 16 on Sunday against Taylor Townsend of the United States and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic at press time.

If the Rafael Nadal Academy alumna loses, she will be able to fully focus on the Catalonia Open.

While the Catalonia Open is a WTA Challenger events, Eala will have quality opponents to face as she continues her build up for the French Open in Paris in May.

She will go up against the likes of No. 31 Wang Xinyu of China, No. 34 Ann Li, of the United States No. 42 Siniaková, No. 43 and American Peyton Stearns, No. 47 Laura Sigemund of Germany, and No. 48 McCartney Kessler of the United States.

Dalma Galfi of Hungary will be defending the crown she won last year despite being ranked No. 117 in the world.

Eala’s overall goal is to continue her progress on the clay courts before the French Open. “I’ve had some struggles on clay before, but I’ve also had some really great matches, so I’m really excited to see,” Eala said.

Eala is also set to compete in the Italian Open, a WTA 1000 tournament, in Rome from 5 to 17 May.