Eala upgraded to main draw of WTA1000 Dubai tilt

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala will now play in the main draw of the WTA1000 Dubai Duty Free International Tennis Championships next week.

Eala’s ticket has been upgraded from a qualifying draw to the main tournament as announced by organizers Thursday after the Filipina barged into the Top 40 of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) world rankings.

And that means a chance to slug it out against the sport’s titans led by world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland and No. 3 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who just ruled the Australian Open last month.

The troika lead a stacked main draw featuring 18 of the world’s top 20 players, including No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, No. 5 Coco Gauff and No. 6 Jessica Pegula of the United States, No. 7 and reigning champion Mirra Andreeva of Russia, No. 8 Jasmine Paolini of Italy, No. 9 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and No. 10 Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia.

The Dubai tourney will be Eala’s second event in the United Arab Emirates after a solid run in the WTA500 Abu Dhabi Open, where she reached the singles quarterfinals and doubles semifinals, last week.

It’s also the second WTA1000 for the 20-year-old Filipina, WTA No. 40, this season after her early exit in the Qatar Open with a 7-6 (8-6), 6-1 defeat at the hands of Czechia’s Tereza Valentova, WTA No. 48.

And that should serve as enough fuel to drive Eala’s bid in Dubai, especially with an expected strong crowd support once again from the overseas Filipinos like what she had in Abu Dhabi and Doha.

“From Doha to Dubai,” said Eala upon landing in the rich Middle Eastern city Thursday, having multiple days to prepare before the main draw on Monday.

The qualifiers get going Friday, with the official draw for the main event expected to be announced right after.

Overall, the prestigious Dubai tourney will be Eala’s seventh straight event after the ASB Classic in Auckland, Australian Open main draw and Kooyong Classic in Melbourne as well as the Philippine Women’s Open, her first-ever pro home tournament.

Now at No. 40 with 1244 points, Eala will be out to net a deep campaign to enter the Top 30-35 next before flying to the USA for the next stop of the WTA Tour.

Eala is slated to play in the Indian Wells Open (BNP Paribas Open) in California on March 4 to 15 before a grand return in the Miami Open on March 17-29.

The Miami Open served as Eala’s gateway to the Top 100 then later on Top 50 after a magical run from the qualifiers to the Final Four marked by wins against former Grand Slam champions and Top-25 players like Swiatek, Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys.

She’s hoping to replicate the feat in Dubai, in spite of a stronger cast led by Sabalenka and company.

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