Alex Eala won’t be competing in Spain once more after pulling out from the Catalonia Open.
The 20-year-old Eala wasn’t in the main draw of this Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Challenger event, making the Madrid Open her only swing on Spanish soil for the clay season.
High-ranking players such as world No. 25 Leylah Fernandez of Canada, No. 34 Ann Li of China and No. 42 Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic also opted to skip the Catalonia Open.
Eala, a Rafael Nadal Academy alumna, will now shift her focus on the the Italian Open, a WTA 1000 event, from 5 to 17 May.
She is also expected to join the Parma Ladies Open from 12 to 17 May depending on how well her campaign in the Italian Open will go.
Eala has yet to make a major breakthrough on clay courts in high-level WTA tourneys.
She lost to No. 40 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 4-6, 5-7, in the Round of 16 of the Linz Open in Austria last 8 April and was swept by Fernandez, 1-6, 4-6, in the Last 32 of the Stuttgart Open in Germany two weeks ago.
Eala fell to No. 21 Elise Mertens of Belgium, 2-6, 1-6, in the Round of 64 of the Madrid Open last Friday.
She will have more than a week to rest and prepare for the Italian Open, which is part of her build-up for the French Open on 24 May.
Eala said not joining every tournament has been crucial in her growth as a tennis player.
After all, she is still within the top 50 of the WTA at No. 44 and could rise higher in the coming weeks depending on her performance.
“It’s very demanding, but I’m happy to play good tennis and see progress. One of the things I’m learning to do is switch off ‘tennis mode’ and step outside of tennis,” Eala said.