Alex Eala will play the penultimate tournament of her 2026 season by making her debut at the Tokyo Open.
Eala has enjoyed the best season of her career so far this year, having won her first WTA title at the Washington Open, reached the fourth round of Wimbledon and broken into the top 20.
Despite all of her success, Eala will not be a part of the WTA Finals this year and therefore only has two tournaments left to play in Tokyo and Hong Kong.
Eala was beaten by Diana Shnaider in Ningbo, and she could face the Russian once again after the Tokyo Open draw was announced.
Alex Eala could face Diana Shnaider again at the Tokyo Open
The Tokyo Open is a WTA 500 tournament, and has a stacked field with the likes of Elena Rybakina, Maja Chwalinska and Naomi Osaka all featuring.
Eala is the eighth seed at the Tokyo Open, and she will face British teenager Mika Stojsavljevic in the first round. Stojsavljevic is currently the world number 281, but like Eala is a former US Open junior champion.
If Eala is able to overcome her British opponent, she will face either Australian Talia Gibson or a qualifier in her second round match. Eala has never faced Gibson on the WTA Tour before, but she has won both of their two previous ITF meetings.
The first seeded opponent Eala could play is the aforementioned Shnaider, who beat her just this week in Ningbo. Eala has struggled against left-handed players, and this is something she will be hoping to change in Tokyo.
Eala could then play Wuhan Open champion Chwalinska in the semi-finals, with world number one Rybakina potentially looming in the final.
Eala has had a mixed record at WTA 500 tournaments this year, with the highlight for her coming when she won the Washington Open back in August.
The Filipina will now be hoping to add to her trophy collection in Tokyo, where the main draw begins on Monday, October 26.