Eala on collision course with ex-tormentors

A handful of familiar faces could take on Alex Eala as she plays in the Round of 32 of the Strasbourg Open in France.

Names such as Talia Gibson of Australia and Oksana Selekhmeteva of Russia could emerge from the qualifiers and challenge Eala in this prestigious Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 500 tournament which serves as her final stop before the French Open in Paris on 24 May.

Gibson, No. 62 in the WTA rankings, defeated Eala twice in as many times they met in the women’s singles in 2023.

The Australian netter defeated Eala in the Round of 16 of the W40 Palma del Rio in Spain and repeated in the W25 Aldershot in Great Britain in the same round.

Gibson is currently facing Zhang Shuai of China in the second qualifying round as of press time.

Meanwhile, Selekhmeteva also had Eala’s number as she won three out of their four matches.

The No. 83 Russian defeated Eala in the W15 Manacor in Spain in 2021, W25 Joue Les Tours in France and the W60 Canberra in Australia in 2023.

Eala would prevail over her former French Open doubles partner at the W100 Cary in the United States in 2024.

Selekhmeteva could make it to the main draw if she beats Mccartney Kessler of the United States in the second round of the qualifiers.

Regardless of who Eala faces in the first round, she cannot let her guard down as she faces the winner between Czech Republic netters No. 26 Marie Bouzkova and No. 39 Katerina Siniakova in the next round.