By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala debuts in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships slated Feb. 15 to 21, joining a star-studded field spearheaded by world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, last month’s Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina and defending champion Mirra Andreeva.
Organizers have confirmed Eala’s main draw entry, marking the 20-year-old Filipina’s second straight WTA1000 event.
Eala, who enjoys a career-high No. 40 in worldrankings, is fresh from the WTA1000 Qatar Open where she lost in the Round of 64 to Tereza Valentova, 7-6 (6), 6-1.
The Dubai Open features a stacked field featuring 18 of the world’s Top 20 players including all the Top 10 stars such as multiple Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek, world No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, American standout Coco Gauff, No. 6 Jessica Pegula, No. 8 Jasmine Paolini, No. 9 Elina Svitolina and No. 10 Ekaterina Alexandranova.
Leylah Fernandez, a Canadian of Filipino descent, is also competing.
The tournament has become part of a demanding early-season schedule for Eala, who saw action first at the ASB Classic in New Zealand where she made it in the semifinals.
She also competed in the Kooyong Classic exhibition event before her main draw debut at the Australian where she lost in the first round to American Alycia Parks.
Shen then saw action in the inaugural Philippine Women’s Open, a WTA 125 event, and the Abu Dhabi Open, where she finished in the quarterfinals on both tournaments.
