After her appearance at the historic Philippine Women’s Open, Alexandra Eala will now play the Abu Dhabi Open.
Eala has been awarded a wild card for the WTA 500 event, following her incredible popularity at the Australian Open.
Fans queued outside for hours to watch Eala’s first round Australian Open match against Alycia Parks, which she lost in three sets.
The star has now found out who she will play at the Abu Dhabi Open, and she has been given another difficult run.
Alexandra Eala drawn against Zeynep Sonmez in Abu Dhabi first round
Eala has been drawn in the bottom half of the Abu Dhabi and she will play Zeynep Sonmez in the first round.
Sonmez is ranked over 30 places below Eala, but she is coming into the WTA 500 event brimming with confidence.
The star enjoyed a breakout Australian Open after qualifying for the Melbourne event and she even made history for her nation.
How high do you think Alexandra Eala’s ceiling is?
Her victory against Ekaterina Alexandrova saw her become the first Turkish woman to win a match at the Grand Slam.
Sonmez continued her run by picking up another win against Anna Bondár, before she lost to Yulia Putinseva in three sets.
Eala will be the favourite to come through the contest, but it will certainly be a tough task for the 20-year-old Filipina star.
Even if she does get through the contest, a whole host of difficult names could await her in the latter stages.
Alexandra Eala’s difficult route through the Abu Dhabi Open
A whole host of high-profile names have signed up for the Abu Dhabi Open, and several of them have been drawn in the bottom half alongside Eala.
If Eala beats Sonmez in the first round, a round of 16 match with Paula Badosa looks like it could be on the cards.
Second seed Alexandrova could follow in the last eight, while Emma Navarro and Liudmila Samsonova could be next in the semi-finals.
Does anybody else even come close to Alex Eala’s popularity right now?
If Eala reaches her first WTA final since the Guadalajara Open last year, it will likely be against in-form Belinda Bencic or Clara Tauson.
Eala will fancy her chances against Tauson, in particular, however, as she defeated the star in the first round of the 2025 US Open.
