Eala starts US Open quest

Alex Eala plays as second seed when she shoots for her third Grand Slam in the US Open Juniors Championships at the USTA Billie King National Tennis Center in New York starting Tuesday.

The 16-year-old Filipina tennis sensation will bid in the last of the four Grand Slam events this year following impressive campaigns in the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon.

Her most successful stint, however, was in Roland Garros, where she teamed up with Oksana Selekhmeteva of Russia to capture the junior doubles title.

It was her second Grand Slam title with the first coming from the 2020 Australian Open where she connived with Priska Nugroho of Indonesia.

The scholar of the Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy in Spain, however, has yet to corner a junior singles plum in the Grand Slam with the closest coming in the French Open last year where she reached the semifinals before bowing to Elsa Jacquemot of France, 3-6, 2-6.

“Singles play is more popular than doubles. It is also, in my opinion, a bit harder. But I’m working on it. I’m still training really hard,” Eala said in a previous interview

“I will be joining a lot of Slams in the future. I try not to focus too much on the results.”

The last time she played in the US Open was in 2019 where she suffered a second round exit against Mai Napatt Nirundorn of Thailand, 5-7, 3-6.

This year, however, Eala’s chances look bright as she will march with high morale following a very fruitful season that was highlighted by a singles title in the ITF W15 Manacor Tournament in January and singles and doubles crowns in the JA Milan tournament in July.

In the US Open, Eala will renew her rivalry with top-ranked junior netters like Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva of Andorra, Diana Shnaider of Russia, Mara Guth of Germany and Madison Sieg of the United States.