FILIPINO tennis sensation Alex Eala will get to strut her wares aboard anew after she was given a wildcard in this year’s Miami Open scheduled on March 16 to 30 in Florida.

Ranked No. 140 in the world, the 19-year-old Eala is one of the four rising tennis athletes who were given wildcard berths in this WTA1000 event. The other wildcard qualifiers are Canada’s Victoria Mboko, 18; United States’ Tyra Grant, 16; and Japan’s Sayaka Ishii, 19.

Bannering the seven wildcard entries are Grand Slam champions Petra Kvitova and Sloan Stephens. Another wildcard entry is Australian Ajla Tomljanovic.

Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon winner, is seeing action again after an 18-month maternity leave. Stephens is a former Miami champion, who is out to end an eight-month slump at this year’s Sunshine Double.

As of March 4, the Top 14 players in the world led by No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 2 Iga Swiatek lead the acceptance list in the women’s side that also includes Fil-Canadian Leylah Fernandez.

Eala actually competed in the Miami Open last year, but lost in the second qualifying round to Colombia’s Emiliana Arango.

Eala is currently seeing action in the W75 Trnava in Slovakia where she is seeded third. The youthful Filipino athlete triumphed in the opening round over Spaniard Leyre Romero Gormaz, 6-4, 6-2, to set up a second-round match with the winner between qualifiers Valentina Ryser of Switzerland and Anna Rogers of the United States.

Eala has yet to win a title this year. Her best finish so far is a semifinal appearance in the Canberra 125 last January.(CCM)

• Tags
• #Alex Eala
• #Miami Open
• #Tennis
• #Wildcard
• #Victoria Mboko
• #Tyra Grant
• #Sayaka Ishii