Alex Eala resumes campaign as No. 2 seed in WTA 125 Guadalajara Open

Alex Eala makes her return to the hardcourt this week in the WTA 125 Guadalajara Open in Mexico as she looks to build on her historic strong run in the US Open last week. 

The 20-year-old Filipina tennis ace will come in the tournament as the second seed and will take on a familiar foe in Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands in the Round of 32 early Wednesday. 

Eala had beaten Hartono thrice in the past. Their first encounter was during Roehampton in Great Britain in 2023 where the Philippine bet pulled off a 7-6, 2-6, 6-1 win in the semifinals. Eala went on winning it all after eking out a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Arina Rodionova in the finals. 

Eala and Hartono would lock horns twice again this year with the Filipina winning on both occasions. 

They locked horns at the Workday Canberra International in early January where Eala hacked out a a 6-3, 6-3 win against the Dutch player before hammering out a 6-2, 6-1 triumph later in the same month in Bengaluru. 

Eala, ranked no. 75 by the WTA, looks to reassert her mastery against world no. 158 Hartono in their fourth head-to-head meeting. 

Historic run in 2025 for Alex Eala

Eala is on a tear in 2025, where she has made Philippine tennis history again and again.

In March, she went on a dream run in the Miami Open, defeating several higher-ranked opponents, including No. 5 Madison Keys and No. 2 Iga Swiatek to reach the semifinals of the event.

In June, she became the first Filipina to reach a WTA Final as she faced Maya Joint in the Eastbourne Open final.

She is also coming off a second-round exit at the 2025 US Open, where she also became the first Filipino player to win a Grand Slam singles main draw match in the Open Era following a 6-3, 2-6, 7(13)-6(11) win over Clara Tauson of Denmark.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News