Alex Eala battles fatigue as she opens Suzhou 125 campaign

September 30 ------ ALEX Eala barely took a breather as she plunges back into action at the WTA 125 Suzhou in China. Fresh from a semifinal appearance at the Jingshan Open last weekend, the Filipina, currently ranked No. 58 in the world, flew across the country to take her place as the tournament’s fourth seed in Suzhou.

Unlike in Jingshan where she was the lone Top 100 player, Eala is joined this time by fellow elites: USA’s Iva Jovic as the top seed, Germany’s Tatjana Maria at No. 2, and the Netherlands’ Suzan Lamens at No. 3. In Jingshan, Eala bowed out in the semifinals to Lulu Sun, world No. 146 and a former No. 39, after failing to protect a one-set advantage, 6-3, 4-6, 2-6.

The 20-year-old wasted no time picking herself up and moving to Suzhou, where she is drawn against Poland’s Katarzyna Kawa, world No. 124, in the opening round. Suzhou marks her second stop in the hard-court Asian swing that stretches through the early “ber” months of 2025.

Eala is aiming to get even in the head-to-head against Kawa, who defeated her in the round of 16 at Templeton, USA, in 2022, 2-6, 6-4, 6-0. Kawa, meanwhile, is coming off a Round of 32 exit at the Guadalajara 500, where she fell to Jovic, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6. Earlier this month, Eala captured her maiden WTA 125 title in Guadalajara, Mexico, and is now hungry for a second — and more.

The Eala–Kawa match schedule is still to be determined in the tournament that runs from September 29 to October 5.

Source: spin.ph