World No. 29 ‘Alex’ Eala will reunite with her tormentor Zheng Qinwen from the 2023 Asian Games, the Chinese star who also went on to win an Olympic gold in Paris 2024. (Photo from the Women’s Tennis Association)
Filipino tennis sensation Alexandra ‘Alex’ Eala face a familiar face in the first hurdle towards the run-up to the upcoming United States Open in Flushing Meadows in Queens, New York City from August 23 to 29, 2026.
Back on her favored surface, the country’s pride will face China’s Zheng Qinwen in the first round of the Mubadala DC Open.
In 2023, the Chinese ace defeated Eala, 6-1, 6(5)-7, 6-3, in the Asiad semifinals, forcing the Filipina to settle for bronze, while Zheng went on to capture the gold medal.
At one point, Zheng was ranked fourth in the world, but now finds herself at No. 123 after being sidelined by injury for nearly a year. She returned to action last February, but has since struggled to regain her form, resulting in a steep drop in the rankings.
Eala and Zheng are scheduled to meet this afternoon (Manila time).
The 21-year-old Eala is coming off a breakthrough Wimbledon campaign, where she reached the Round of 16 before bowing ultimately to Italy’s Jasmine Paolini.
On the other hand,
Zheng suffered a first-round exit at Wimbledon, but later reached the quarterfinals of the WTA 250 Athens Open, where she lost to Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic.
As of this writing, however, Eala is absent from the doubles draw despite being expected to reunite with the legendary Venus Williams for the second tournament of their partnership.
While no announcement was made to justify the apparent change, Diana Shnaider took Eala’s place in the doubles draw.