Alex Eala secures qualifying spot in 2024 Australian Open

Filipina teen tennis sensation Alex Eala is looking to kick off the new year the right way after she secured a qualifying spot in the 2024 Australian Open.

The 18-year-old netter, who currently ranks no. 190 in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), will represent the Philippines in the field that will be bannered by 2021 US Open titleholder Emma Raducanu as well as Hsieh Su-Wei and Francesca Jones.

The qualifying event is slated on January 8 while the main draw is tipped to take place from January 14 to 28.

This won't be Eala's first time competing in the Australian Open as she first saw action in the Grand Slam as a junior in 2020, where she reigned supreme in the girls' doubles event alongside partner Priska Madelyn Nugroho of Indonesia. She also competed in the singles event but only made it to the third round.

In 2023, she competed in the qualifiers of the women's singles event, but lost to Misaki Doi of Japan.

Eala is hoping to build on the momentum she gained in 2023, which saw her cop a pair of bronze medals in the Asian Games. She wound up third in the women's singles division while she and partner Francis Alcantara also managed to finish third place in the mixed doubles event.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News