By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Negrense tennis standout Alex Eala is set to continue her clay-court campaign after being listed among the qualifiers for the upcoming Strasbourg Grand Prix, which opens its main draw on Monday, May 18.

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) website included Eala in the qualifying field together with several established players, including France’s Elsa Jacquemot, Czech Republic veteran Barbora Krejcikova and Poland’s Magda Linette.

Eala heads to Strasbourg following her stint in the Italian Open, where she reached the Round of 32 before absorbing a defeat to World’s No. 2 Elena Rybakina.

The 20-year-old Filipina also competed in doubles in Rome alongside American partner Hailey Baptiste, but the pair exited in the opening round against the tandem of Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova.

Despite the setback in Italy, Eala has continued to gain experience on the WTA Tour this season through appearances in several high-level tournaments.

During the clay-court swing, she advanced to the Round of 32 in the Italian Open and Stuttgart Open, while also seeing action in the Madrid Open.

Earlier in the year, Eala reached the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Abu Dhabi Open, as well as the Round of 16 in both the Miami Open and Indian Wells.

She also made the semifinals of the ASB Classic in Auckland to open her 2026 season./ASC, WDJ