By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Negrense Alex Eala will have little time to rest after her semifinals stint at the Berlin Open as another major grass-court tournament awaits.

Eala, currently ranked 35th in WTA, is scheduled to compete in the WTA 500 Bad Homburg Open slated for this week.

The tournament serves as one of the final tune-up events before Wimbledon, giving Eala another opportunity to test herself against some of the world’s top players on grass.

Eala has been drawn against Belgium’s Elise Mertens, currently ranked No. 24 in the world, in the opening round.

The matchup presents a tough challenge for the 21-year-old Filipina, who has yet to defeat Mertens in two previous meetings.

Should Eala overcome the Belgian, she could set up a second-round showdown against four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka.

The Bad Homburg event will also see Eala compete in doubles alongside tennis legend Venus Williams.

The Eala-Williams tandem is slated to face the experienced pair of Liang En-shuo of Chinese Taipei and Japan’s Shuko Aoyama in the first round.

Liang and Aoyama enter the tournament in strong form after capturing the Libema Open doubles title and reaching the semifinals of this year’s French Open.

Eala heads to Bad Homburg carrying plenty of momentum after a string of strong performances on grass, including a title finish in the WTA 125 Birmingham Open./ASC, WDJ