Eala enters quarters at Australian Open warm-up

AUSTRALIAN OPEN-BOUND Alex Eala barged into the quarterfinals of the Workday Canberra International on Wednesday.

The 19-year-old made short work of Dutch ace Arianne Hortono, 6-3, 6-3, to carry over her winning streak from the tail end of 2024.

Ms. Eala previously drubbed Austria’s Sinja Kraus, 6-2, 6-4, in the Round of 32 of the main draw after ruling the qualifying round.

Seeded as No. 1 in the qualifiers, the lefty standout took care of business against home bets Catherine Aulia, 6-1, 6-2, and, Alana Subasic, 5-7, 6-0, 6-1.

Ms. Eala connected on four aces to dispatch Ms. Hortono in only 70 minutes of play to make it to the Top 8.

Ms. Eala, who recently improved to No. 147 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) before the yearend, is utilizing the Canberra tourney to prepare for the Australian Open on Jan. 12 to 26 in Melbourne.

She is seeking to become the first Filipina to ever play in a Grand Slam main tourney.

Ms. Eala made it to the finals of the qualifying rounds in three other majors — French Open, Wimbledon, and Australian Open — last year but to no avail.

A graduate of the Rafael Nadal Academy in Spain, Ms. Eala was a junior Grand Slam champion in the Australian and US Open but has yet to make a breakthrough in the tougher women’s circuit. — John Bryan Ulanday