Alex Eala is expected to go all out when she competes in the Stuttgart Open in Germany following her campaign in the ongoing Upper Austria Ladies Linz event in Austria.
The 20-year-old Eala was initially listed in the qualifying round of the prestigious Women’s Tennis Association (WTA)-rated 500 event but was given a last-minute call up to the main draw following the withdrawal of world No. 37 and Paris Olympics gold medalist Qinqen Zheng of China due to injury.
Set to open on 13 April at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Arena, the Stuttgart Open will gather all the brightest tennis stars like world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, No. Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, No. 3 Iga Swiatek of Poland and No. 4 Coco Gauff of the United States.
World No. 23 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia is the reigning champion in Stuttgart, whom, ironically, is facing Eala in the second round of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz at press time.
“Hello, mga kababayan. I didn’t expect you’d be a lot of you here in Linz but thank you for watching my games and see you tomorrow,” said Eala after posting a 6-4, 6-3 victory over home bet Julia Grabher in the opening round of the Austrian event.
“I think it’s amazing. I’m really happy with how they welcomed me and welcomed the Filipinos. I guess we matched really well because there are a lot of them here.”
Eala said she hopes to make the most of her first stint in Austria while chasing the elusive WTA title.
“I’m really thankful for the hospitality. I hope to discover your culture more and have some fun on the court,” Eala added.
Should Eala shock Ostapenko, she will face the winner between No. 79 Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and No. 49 Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine in the quarterfinal.
Eala already defeated the 25-year-old Yastremska twice after facing each other in the Eastbourne Open last June and the BNP Paribas Open last February while Ruse prevailed over the Filipina in the qualifiers of the US Open in 2024.