Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala may have made an early exit in the singles draw in the Bad Homburg Open, but she has plenty to look forward to in the doubles.

Eala will team up with tennis icon Venus Williams in the women’s doubles that starts on Thursday, June 25 (Philippine time).

“Syempre excited na excited kasi hindi araw-araw na makakasama ko si Venus sa court, kaya bigay todo talaga,” said Eala.

The Filipina was bundled out of the singles by World’s No. 26 Elise Mertens of Belgium, 3-6, 3-6, in the first round.

This marks Eala’s third career defeat against the Belgian star.

“Elise is an experienced player, very veteran, and I played her a couple of times before and also have encountered many challenges before,” Eala admitted.

“I think the conditions were difficult for me today, so I did the best I could with what I had.”

Despite the singles loss, the Filipina netter remained high-spirited and expressed pride in her performance on the grass court against a top-tier opponent.

“I’m proud of how I fought, I’m proud of what I did, and I’m proud of how I showed up,” Eala added.

After Bad Homburg, Eala is headed to Wimbledon, where she has made history as the first Filipino player to be seeded at a grand slam event since Treat Huey in men’s doubles. (ABS-CBN News)