ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA will are available as a late substitute against a qualifier within the fundamental draw of the WTA 500 Strasbourg Open as she enters the ultimate stage of her French Open buildup.
Ms. Eala, listed as No. 1 within the qualifying list, replaced her former doubles partner Hailey Baptiste of the US, who pulled out on Sunday, for a sudden jump within the fundamental tournament.
Strasbourg is serving because the pre-tourney for the Roland Garros set on May 24 to June 7 in Paris.
The Strasbourg qualifiers is yet to achieve its final phase, giving Ms. Eala an ample time to plot her attack and refine her bearings from a week-long break on the heels of her breakthrough campaign within the Italian Open.
The 20-year-old Ms. Eala for the primary time ever reached the third round of a clay tournament, where she bowed to world No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, 6-4, 6-3.
Ms. Eala and Ms. Baptiste also played within the Italian Open doubles where they folded to Czechia’s Katerina Siniakova (doubles world No. 1) and USA’s Taylor Townsend (doubles world No. 2), 6-2, 6-1, in Round 1.
Either Ms. Siniakova, WTA singles No. 39, or her compatriot Marie Bouzkova, WTA No. 26, will likely be Ms. Eala’s opponent in Strasbourg second round should she hurdle the still-to-be-determined qualifier.
The Strasbourg will likely be Ms. Eala’s fifth clay stint that ought to serve her well in a bid to attain a deep run within the queen of clay after a Round of 128 exit in her fundamental draw debut last yr against Colombia’s Emiliana Arango, 0-6, 6-2, 3-6.
She also vied within the Upper Austria Ladies Linz Open in Austria (second round), the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany (first round) and the Mutua Madrid Open (second round).
Before the French Open and Strasbourg though, Ms. Eala is anticipated to climb to No. 38 from No. 42 with 1340 points in keeping with the WTA live rankings after gaining 55 points from a robust showing in Rome.
Ms. Eala can even play within the doubles of the Roland Garros with the 19-year old Canadian star Victoria Mboko, the world No. 9 and the No. 1 seed in Strasbourg.
It would be the primary team- up for the 2 rising stars after two meetings of their young careers. — John Bryan Ulanday