FILE–Alex Eala and Venus Williams during their round of 16 match within the Bad Homburg Open doubles.–BAD HOMBURG OPEN PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–Alex Eala make clear why her doubles reunion with Venus Williams on the Mubadala DC Open was a last-minute scratch.
Eala said that while it was an honor to play alongside the tennis legend, the Filipino rising star felt it was best for her to drag out of doubles competition as she won’t give you the option to be at her 100% within the event.
“I even have tremendous respect for Venus. I’m grateful for each opportunity I even have to be by her side, to learn from her, to play along with her,” Eala said during a pre-tournament press conference.
READ: Alex Eala faces Zheng Qinwen at Mubadala DC Open, team-up with Venus off
“But that is my first week since Wimbledon, and I feel she deserves a partner who may give it her all physically, mentally, and emotionally when she is on the court along with her.”
Eala and Williams received a wildcard entry on the DC Open doubles and even practiced on Saturday. Eala’s name, nevertheless, was nowhere to be present in the draw on Sunday, with Williams re-pairing with Russia’s Diana Shnaider.
“I feel immediately, I can only give attention to singles. I’m not able to doing that for each singles and doubles. I’m grateful for the chance I had, and I hope we see more of that in the long run,” Eala added.
Eala and Williams’ first foray together saw them reach the quarterfinal of the Bad Homburg Open doubles before yielding to Olivia Nicholls and Tereza Mihalikova, 6-3, 6-2, last month.
The 21-year-old Eala hasn’t played since her historic campaign on the Wimbledon Championships earlier this month. She lost to Jasmine Paolini within the round of 16.
Eala begins her US Open swing on Tuesday against reigning Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen within the round of 32 of the WTA 500 Mubadala DC Open in Washington, DC.
Canadian Leylah Fernandez, who proudly embraces her Filipino roots, is the tournament’s defending champion.