By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala returns to action when she competes in the Guadalajara 125 Open in Mexico on Wednesday, Sept. 3 (Philippine time).
The 20-year-old Filipina tennis sensation faces a familiar rival in Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands in the first round of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA125) tournament.
Seeded second in the tournament, Eala hopes to reaffirm her mastery over Hartono after beating the 29-year-old Dutch in all their three previous meetings.
They first clashed in the semifinals of the Roehampton 2 in Great Britain in 2023, with Eala prevailing in three sets.
The next two matchups happened in 2025 — first at the Canberra 125 in Australia where Eala swept the match in the Round of 16, then in the Bengaluru tournament in India where the Filipina also triumphed in straight sets.
This would be Eala’s first tournament after reaching the second round of the US Open last week.
Eala’s first round win over world No. 14 Clara Tauson in New York sparked massive celebrations from Filipino communities all over the world as she became the first Filipino tennis player to clear the first hurdle in an Open era.
Though she failed to sustain what many described as a dream start, Eala, currently ranked No. 75, received almost the same amount of support,
Hartono, for her part, also competed in the US Open, but the world No. 187 player failed to make it to the main draw round after losing her third qualifying match.
