Friends Alex Eala, Zeynep Sonmez team up for Wuhan Open doubles

Alexandra "Alex" Eala and Zeynep Sonmez, who share a close friendship off the court, will look to bring that chemistry to the doubles court as they link up for the WTA1000 Wuhan Open in China.

The Filipino-Turkish pair will face the Ukrainian tandem of Anhelina Kalinina and Dayana Yastremska in the Round of 32 initially scheduled for Monday.

Both Eala and Sonmez are also competing in the singles event.

This won't be the first time that Eala and Sonmez are teaming up on the court.

Eala and Sonmez were partners during the Madrid Open, where they pulled off a 6-2, 6-2 win in the opening round against Chan Hao-Chang of Chinese Taipei and Fanny Stollar of Hungary. But the two bowed out in the next round after absorbing a 6-1, 7-5 loss to higher-ranked Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova.

Eala and Sonmez have also faced each other as opponents.

The Filipina star has beaten Sonmez in all three of their previous meetings. Eala first edged the Turkish ace, 7-6(5), 6-4, in the Round of 16 of an ITF W60 tournament in France in 2023 before scoring a 6-1, 6-3 victory in the qualifying round of the 2025 Eastbourne Open, where she eventually reached the final.

In the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open this year, Eala continued her mastery over Sonmez after eking out a 6-4, 6-3 win in the Round of 32.

See photos of Alex Eala's season here:

—JMB, GMA News