Alex Eala will play the Guadalajara Open ahead of Sao Paulo tourney

ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA will play in the Guadalajara Open in Mexico first before trooping to Brazil for the Sao Paulo Open as part of her redemption tour from a second-round exit in the US Open last week in New York.

Ms. Eala, ranked No. 70 in the live WTA rankings, is seeded second in the WTA 125-level tourney slated until Sept. 6 ahead of her Brazil stint on Sept. 8 to 14.

The 20-year-old Filipina ace has drawn No. 187 Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands in Round 1 tentatively set on Wednesday, looming as the heavy favorite due to higher ranking and 3-0 head-to-head advantage.

Ms. Eala will march in Guadalajara with extra motivation after a historic stint in the US Open, where she became the first Filipina winner in any tennis major main draw.

Unseeded and coming off a shoulder injury, Ms. Eala pulled off a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11) stunner of world No. 15 and 14th-seeded Clara Tauson of Denmark before bowing to Cristina Bucsa of Spain, 6-4, 6-3, in the Round of 64.

The US Open served as the final Slam this season as Ms. Eala qualified in three out of the four main draws in a breakthrough year save for a qualifying stint in the Australia Open.

A coveted main draw win eluded her in the French Open and Wimbledon.

Now, Ms. Eala sets her sights on continuing to improve her WTA rankings and winning her first pro title this year starting with a foray in South America.

After Mexico and Brazil, Ms. Eala is slated to fly to Asia for multiple tournaments leading up to a possible Philippine team return in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand this December.

A graduate of the Rafael Nadal Academy in Spain, Ms. Eala netted three bronze medals in the 31st SEAG in Vietnam in 2022 but did not see action in the next edition in Cambodia last year due to schedule conflict. — John Bryan Ulanday