Eala skips Catalonia Open, gears up for Italian Open

Filipina tennis star Alex Eala withdrew from the Catalonia Open to focus on a bigger stage, the Italian Open. 

Set to take place from 5 May to 17 May at the Foro Italico, the 2026 Italian Open, officially known as the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, is a WTA 1000 competition. 

With that, top players worldwide such as Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Elena Rybakina, Mirra Andreeva, Naomi Osaka, Karolina Muchova and Emma Raducanu are expected to join the 96-player list.  

Catalonia Open on the other hand, is scheduled on 27 April to 3 May and is a WTA 125 event.

The Rome-based competition will be Eala’s fourth tournament of the clay season, while she currently holds a 2-3 record on the surface.  

The 20-year-old is coming off a second round loss in the Madrid Open where she fell to world no. 21 Elise Mertens.