Eala swings over to Dubai, takes on Turkish rival

MANILA, Philippines, February 2 ------ Alex Eala resumes her campaign in the WTA Tour, taking on Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez in Round 1 of the stacked WTA500 Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open today at the Zayed Sports City International Center.

It will be the third duel between two good pals with the 20-year-old Filipina holding a 2-0 head-to-head advantage after wins in the 2023 W60 Nantes in France and the 2025 Eastbourne Open in England. Eala, WTA No. 49, plunges into action with her morale soaring high, coming from a WTA tourney in Manila where she reached the quarterfinals, hitting the end of the road in a 6-4, 6-4 defeat to eventual champion Camila Osorio of Colombia (WTA No. 84).

Hopes are high Eala will go deep in the rich Middle East WTA event featuring a cast led by reigning champion and WTA No. 10 Belinda Bencic of Switzerland. Also in the fray are world No. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia (No. 2 seed), No. 14 Clara Tauson of Denmark (No. 3 seed) and  No. 15 Emma Navarro of the United States (No. 4 seed).

Meanwhile, the country’s hosting of the WTA125 Philippine Open drew commendation. “It’s a smashing success. We’ve talked to some of the coaches and players; and all of their reviews were very good. There are minimum standards (court, venue, hotel) that were supervised by the WTA but I think we went beyond that, including the exceptional hospitality of the Filipino people. Lahat masaya and want to be part of something great,” beamed Philippine Tennis Association (PHILTA) secretary general and Navotas City Mayor John Rey Tiangco, a former tennis player himself.

“Well, to tell you the truth, it’s an excellent turnout. If you’re asking me if the Philippines would be ready to do a tournament of a higher caliber, then they’re ready,” said WTA supervisor Cristina Romero Contla from Mexico.

The Philippines never had a tennis tournament of international standards as the WTA until this year with the Philippine Sports Commission led by chairman Patrick “Pato” Gregorio and the PHILTA teaming up to make it happen.

Source: philstar.com