Filipina tennis star Alex Eala is set to begin her 2026 WTA season as the fourth seed at the ASB Classic, opening her singles campaign against Croatia’s Donna Vekić.
The match, scheduled for Tuesday at 6:00 a.m. (PH time), marks the first professional meeting between the 20-year-old Eala and the 29-year-old veteran.
Eala enters the tournament ranked world No. 53, while Vekić, a 2024 Olympic silver medalist and former world No. 17, is currently ranked No. 69.
Eala is coming off a career-best 2025 season where she broke into the WTA Top 100, secured her first WTA 125 title, and won a gold medal at the Southeast Asian Games.
Her high seeding in Auckland places her just behind top seed Elina Svitolina (No. 14), Emma Navarro (No. 15), and Iva Jovic (No. 35).
Beyond her singles bid, Eala will see action on Monday in the doubles draw. Partnering with American Iva Jovic, she is scheduled to face a high-profile duo in former world No. 1 Venus Williams and Ukraine’s Svitolina.
The ASB Classic serves as a key tune-up for Eala ahead of the Australian Open later this month, where she is expected to make her main draw debut at the season’s first Grand Slam.
Following the New Zealand tournament, she is also slated to compete in the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne before heading to Manila for the inaugural Philippine Women’s Open.