WHILE steadily climbing the women's singles rankings, doubles competition has remained an important part of Alex Eala’s development as a tennis player.
As a junior, Eala captured two Grand Slam doubles titles, first at the 2020 Australian Open and then at the 2021 French Open, before claiming her breakthrough girls’ singles crown at the 2022 US Open.
READ Eala drops out of Bad Homburg early after falling to Mertens
Over the past year, she has shared the court with notable partners such as Coco Gauff and Iva Jovic.
This week, however, she is set to fulfill a childhood dream by teaming up with American tennis icon Venus Williams, who recently returned to competition after more than a year away from the sport.
Venus, alongside sister Serena Williams, announced a return to doubles action ahead of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships, with the WTA 500 Bad Homburg Open serving as part of their preparations.
Eala entered the tournament as a wildcard, and after both she and Williams suffered first-round exits in singles, their attention now shifts fully to doubles.
The newly formed tandem will open its campaign against Australia's Alexandra Osborne and American Catherine Harrison. Osborne is currently ranked No. 143 in the world in doubles, while Harrison sits at No. 142.
As of this writing, their match is scheduled for Wednesday, not before 5 p.m., Manila time.
Bad Homburg marks Eala’s fourth grass-court tournament of the season following appearances in Birmingham, where she captured her second WTA 125 title, as well as the Queen’s Club Championships and the Berlin Tennis Open.
The event is expected to be Eala’s final tune-up before Wimbledon, where she is seeded No. 29 —the first Grand Slam seeding of her young professional career.
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