A CHINESE stands in the way of Alex Eala at the start her campaign in the Wuhan Open 2026.
The Filipina tennis star will take on Shi Han in the first round on Monday at Dongfeng Voyah Center Court at 8:40 p.m.
Shi emerged from the qualifiers after disposing top-seeded Peyton Stearns of USA, 2-6, 7-5, 6-4, and Kamilla Rakhimova of Uzbekistan, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1.
READ Eala in line to face Fernandez, Pegula in Wuhan Open
Shi is currently ranked 231st in the world and the Wuhan Open is set to be her biggest break yet. She won seven titles in the ITF circuit, the latest being the W50 Elvas tournament in Portugal last July.
Eala goes to the WTA1000 event as the 13th seed and is placed in Section 4, where she is in line for a potential face-off against Leylah Fernandez in the second round and a possible third-round matchup against Jessica Pegula.
Currently the world No. 19, Eala can move further up the rankings with a few top players, namely world No. 1 Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, Linda Noskova, Amanda Anisimova, and Naomi Osaka, skipping the event.
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