Rising Alex Eala earns Miami Open wild card

Photo from Rafa Nadal Academy Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala has been given a wild card entry into the qualifiers of the 2021 Miami Open.

The Rafa Nadal Academy announced the news Tuesday on social media with Rafael Nada’s uncle, Toni, making the announcement.

According to the WTA Acceptance List as of Feb. 25, 2021, the best women’s players including world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, 2021 Australian Open champion and world No. 2 Naomi Osaka as well as third-ranked Simona Halep are expected to play in the star-studded tournament.

The tournament will run from March 22 to April 4 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Eala has been on a rapid ascent since winning her maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne by capturing the girls doubles title in 2020. Later in the year, she became the first Filipino to reach a Grand Slam semifinal in 35 years.

The 15-year-old Eala picked up where she left off with her first pro title in the first leg of the Rafael Nadal Academy World Tennis Tour before following it up with three quarterfinals finishes.

She is coming off a second-round exit in her fifth pro tournament earlier this month.

Eala now ranked 736th in the latest WTA rankings just a month after cracking the top 1000.