Filipino star Alexandra Eala will be hoping to return to form when she contests her opening match at the Suzhou Open on Tuesday.
Eala, who trains at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, most recently competed at the WTA 125 in Jingshan, China.
After winning her first three rounds, Eala ran into Lulu Sun, who defeated Emma Raducanu at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.
Top seed Eala was knocked out by third-seed Sun, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
The Filipino has now travelled to Suzhou, China, where she has been drawn against a player she has only played once before – three years ago.
Katarzyna Kawa defeated Alexandra Eala in their only previous meeting
At the 2022 WTA 60 event in Templeton, USA, Alexandra Eala was a wildcard entry.
The Filipino starlet proceeded to demolish her first-round opponent, defeating Israel’s Shavit Kimchi 6-0, 6-0.
In the next round, Eala met Polish player Katarzyna Kawa. The pair had never played against each other previously.
Eala looked to be on her way to a comfortable victory against the Pole, but Kawa fought back valiantly, eventually claiming victory 2-6, 6-4, 6-0.
Kawa would go on to lose in the next round against America’s Robin Montgomery.
The eventual winner of the tournament was Madison Brengle, who has reached a career-high singles ranking of world number 35.
Eala’s potential second-round opponent
If Eala manages to avenge her loss against Kawa, she will face Belgian world number 106 Greet Minnen in the next round.
Minnen defeated China’s Han Shi in the first round, 6-4, 6-0.
If this prospective match between Eala and Minnen were to happen, it would mark their first meeting.
Meanwhile, Minnen and Kawa have played each other four times, with the Belgian emerging victorious on all four occasions.
