OUR Filipino tennis star is set to open her 2026 Grand Slam campaign on Australian soil.
Alex Eala will face United States’ Alycia Parks on Monday morning, not before 9:10 a.m., Manila time, on Court 6 of Melbourne Park, marking her official debut at the Australian Open in Victoria.
The season-opening major is the lone Grand Slam yet to be checked off Eala’s list, having already competed at Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and US Open last year.
Now ranked a career-high world No. 49, the 20-year-old Filipina is aiming to go beyond her best Slam showing so far, which is a second-round (round of 64) finish at Flushing Meadows in 2025.
READ: Gratitude grounds Alex Eala ahead of Australian Open
Standing in her way is WTA No. 100 Parks, a powerful 25-year-old who owns one WTA singles title and two doubles crowns, and has reached a career-best ranking of No. 40.
Recent runs by Eala, Parks
Parks also carries prior Melbourne experience, having reached the third round of the Australian Open in 2024, her deepest run at a major to date.
Eala enters the match riding momentum from a strong buildup in Auckland, where she advanced to the semifinals of the WTA 250 ASB Classic before bowing to China’s Xinyu Wang, no. 57, 7-5, 5-7, 4-6, in a hardfought thriller.
Parks, meanwhile, suffered an early exit in the same tournament, falling in the opening round to 81st-ranked Elisabetta Cocciarett, 2-6, 5-7.
Closing out 2025 on a high note, Eala also delivered gold for the Philippines in the Thailand Southeast Asian Games, ending the country’s decade-long wait for a tennis title.
Parks, for her part, wrapped up her season with a quarterfinal finish at the WTA 125 Open BLS de Limoges in France.
It will be the two's first meeting in their young pro careers.
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