Eala to play in Italian Open before Roland Garros stint

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala will have one more tournament before marching on to her much-awaited main draw debut in the French Open on May 25 to June 8 in Paris.

Eala is listed in the Italian Open scheduled on May 6-18 in Rome, serving as her final preparation for the Roland Garros, where she’s a former juniors doubles champion.

The 19-year-old Filipina pride was previously entered in the 32-player main draw of the Catalonia Open in Spain, already in the qualifying stage until May 3, but was no longer included as of the latest draw.

She will focus her sights now in Rome before trooping to Paris, looking to avenge a second-round exit in the Madrid Open last week.

Eala bowed to world No. 2 and reigning champion Iga Swiatek of Poland — whom she stunned in the Miami Open — in Round 2 of the Madrid tourney, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6.

She beat Bulgaria’s Victoriya Tomova, 6-3, 6-2, in Round 1, which is expected to give her a few more points to jack up her Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) ranking of No. 72 in the updated list this week.

On Monday, Eala was feted with the distinguished Premios Tanglaw award by Philippine Ambassador to Spain, Philippe Lhuillier, in recognition of her valuable contributions to the country through tennis as a scholar in Europe.

The Premios Tanglaw honors Filipinos and Spaniards who have made significant contributions to fostering solidarity and cooperation between the Philippines and Spain.

Eala was a graduate of the Rafael Nadal Academy in Spain and won multiple WTA tournaments there.

Last month, Eala etched history by becoming the first WTA semifinalist in the Miami Open in the United States with a Cinderella run that included big wins against three Top-25 players and three former Grand Slam winners.