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ALEX M. Eala gets another chance to duke it out against the world’s best tennis players after earning a wildc ard ticket in the main draw of the prestigious Miami Open on March 21 to April 3.
This will be Ms. Eala’s second stint in Miami following a wild card entry last year in the qualifiers, where she bowed to Slovakia’s Viktoria Kuzmova in the first round.
Already through to the main event this time, Ms. Eala faces a tougher field bannered by 71 players from the Top 75 Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings with a combined 26 Grand Slam singles titles.
Leading the stacked cast are seasoned netters Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Victoria Azarenka and Angelique Kerber with four-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1 Naomi Osaka also earning a wild card berth.
Due to her ongoing recovery from consecutive campaigns, reigning champion and world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, meanwhile, withdrew from the Miami Open that also features rising stars Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez.
Ms. Eala, the WTA No. 571 and ITF juniors No. 10, is coming off a Round of 16 finish in the W25 Joue les Tours in France last week.
She had played in five pro events so far this year as part of preparations for her Southeast Asian (SEA) Games debut following her inclusion in the beefed-up Philippine tennis team.
The 31st SEA Games will be on May 12 to 23 in Hanoi, Vietnam. — John Bryan Ulanday