Following her quarterfinal run at the World Tennis Association 500 Abu Dhabi Open, the Philippines’ Alex Eala will have higher ranking ahead of her schedule to see action at the WTA 1000 Qatar Open.
The 20-year-old Eala moved to world no. 40 in the official WTA rankings, hours before she confronts another rising star, Tereza Valentova, on Monday evening (Manila time) at the center court of the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha.
Eala rose from no. 45, following her stint in Abu Dhabi, where she defeated Zeynep Sonmez in the first round.
After that, Eala eked out a hard-earned triumph over Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the second round, before losing to world No 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova, 6-3, 6-3, in the quarterfinals.
In Doha, Eala will seek to avenge a loss she absorbed to the 18-year-old Valentova in the Japan Open last September.
To reach the main draw, Valentova hurdled Arina Rodionova and Ella Seidel in the qualifiers.
Valentova is coming off campaigns in the Australian Open and the Adelaide International netfest.
At the Australian Open, Valentova made it to the third round with victories over Maya Joint and Linda Fruhvirtova, before falling to no. 5 seed Elena Rybakina.
At the Adelaide International, Valentova got into the second round, upsetting former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, who retired in the second set.
Eala is expected play an aggressive baseline game, and rely on her powerful groundstrokes, while Valentova is known for her powerful, “first-strike” baseline game.
