Alex Eala: 19-year-old primed for intriguing Italian Open debut as rise continues
Alex Eala is primed and ready to take another big step in her career.
After her stunning breakout run at the Miami Open back in March, the 19-year-old has been adjusting to life in the spotlight and now faces her latest test.
Eala has automatically entered the Italian Open main draw after a handful of withdrawals – the first time she has not had to qualify or receive a wildcard at a WTA 1000 event.
It will be the Filipina’s third clay-court event of the spring and second at WTA Tour-level, following her Madrid Open campaign last fortnight.
Ahead of the 19-year-old’s campaign in Rome, we look at what to expect from her at the Italian capital.
Who will she play?
With all 32 seeds receiving an opening-round bye in the Italian capital, Eala was guaranteed to face an unseeded player in round one.
However, the Filipina has been handed arguably the toughest draw possible in the form of Ukrainian star Marta Kostyuk.
Kostyuk was a quarter-finalist at the Madrid Open last week and rose nine places to world No 27 in the WTA Rankings on Monday, though the seedings for the draw were made official before this.
The 22-year-old was as high as world No 16 in the WTA Rankings last June and has reached at least the fourth round of four out of five WTA 1000 events in 2025 to date.
However, the Italian Open has not been her strongest event previously, reaching the third round just once in four attempts.
If Eala were to pull off a significant upset and beat Kostyuk, she would then face 14th seed Daria Kasatkina in the second round.
The Filipina could also go on to face 24th seed Leylah Fernandez in round three, and world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in round four.
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Potential rankings chance
Eala is already at a new career-high ranking of world No 70 and, with no points to defend in the Italian capital, there is a chance for her to surge even further up the WTA Rankings.
Even before taking to court, the 19-year-old is in line for a potential boost.
With multiple players provisionally dropping points in Rome, Eala is currently up to world No 62 in the WTA Live Rankings.
Among those set to drop points are current world No 62 Katerina Siniakova, projected to fall to world No 63, and world No 54 Victoria Azarenka – who is provisionally down to world No 70 without any Rome points.
Should she beat Kostyuk, she would cement her rise and be all but guaranteed a new career-high once the tournament is complete.
However, even if she were to fall at the first hurdle, there is a good chance that she will still secure a new career high at the event.
