Alex Eala in action during the Oeiras Ladies Open as part of her build-up for the 2025 French Open. – Federação Portuguesa de Ténis
MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala is officially qualified for the main draw of the upcoming 2025 French Open, marking another milestone in her young career.
READ: Mentally tougher, Alex Eala primed for the big Grand Slam stage
After needing to go through Grand Slam qualifiers since she turned pro in 2020, the 19-year-old Filipino tennis star this time earned a direct entry into this year’s Roland Garros by virtue of her career-best WTA rankings.
Eala made the leap to World No. 72 after her stellar outing in this year’s Miami Open, where she defeated several Grand Slam winners before falling short in the semifinals.
Eala will enter the French Open as the 74th seed, according to the list the organizers released on April 15.
READ: Alex Eala opens up on visa challenges with Philippine passport
Her clay season is off to a rough start, though, after suffering a round-of-16 exit in the Oeiras Ladies Open in Portugal. She lost to Panna Udvardy of Hungary, 6(4)-7, 4-6, on Thursday.
There will also be familiar faces in the premier clay court competition, with world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka as the top seed.
Iga Swiatek, whom Eala defeated in the Miami Open, is seeded second followed by Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff and Madison Keys to round out the top 5.
The French Open officially begin on May 19 at Porte d’Auteuil in France.
Eala, meanwhile, will continue her build-up for the Roland Garros with the WTA 1000 in the Madrid Open starting April 21.
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