Tennis star Alex Eala hopes to raise her first Grand Slam title when she competes in the 2021 French Open juniors tournament starting Monday next week.
Armed with impressive showing in at least 10 pro events, including a title win in the first leg of the W15 Manacor in February in Spain, Eala has been seeded No. 2 in the tournament.
The prestigious Miami Open in Florida was the biggest tournament that Eala had competed so far as a pro after securing a wildcard entry in the qualifier.
However, Eala, who turned 16 last month, failed to get through the tournament proper.
But in Paris, Eala, a Globe ambassador, is determined to improve on her semis showing during the 2020 edition.
Eala’s semis showing enabled her to match the feat of Felix Barrientos who made it to the Final Four during the 1985 Wimbledon juniors tournament.
But more importantly, Eala, ranked No. 3 in world juniors rankings, is hoping her partnership with Indonesian Priska Nugroho will yield another positive result.
The two reigned supreme in the Australian Open juniors doubles.
In her first doubles event as a pro, Eala and partner Russian Oksana Selekhmeteva finished runner up in the women’s $25,000 tournament in Platja D’aro, Spain.
Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva of Andorra is seeded No. 1 while Russians Polina Kuedemetova and Diana Shnaider are ranked No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.
