Alex Eala clinches no. 2 seed in French Open juniors

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Filipina tennis sensation Alex Eala will be entering the 2021 French Open as the no. 2 seed and is one of the favorites to win the juniors’ title this year.

Eala will be looking to do better than what she accomplished in last year’s Roland Garros after reaching the semifinals of the Grand Slam tournament.

The Filipina ace also made history as the first-ever from the PH to reach a Grand Slam semifinals since Felix Barrientos in the 1985 Wimbledon juniors tournament.

Eala blossomed into one of the most exciting WTA tennis players after locking into the top 800 players earlier this year.

The 16-year-old youngster is fresh off a first-runner-up finish in the women’s $25,000 tournament in Platja D’aro, Spain doubles event together with partner Oksana Selekhmeteva of Russia.

Eala had a pretty decent run during the past Grand Slam events after a semifinals finish in French Open and a championship title during the 2020 Australian Open juniors doubles event.

Seeded higher than Eala in the 2021 French Open is Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva of Andorra while Russians Polina Kuedemetova and Diana Shnaider follow Eala at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.