A week after their match at the ASB Classic in New Zealand.
On Wednesday, January 14, Filipina tennis star Alex Eala, who is fresh from her being named as the world no. 49 by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), returned to the hard court.
This, as she participated in the invitational Kooyong Classic in Melbourne, Australia, where she met a familiar foe in Donna Vekic—whom she battled against at the revent ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand last week.
Their earlier match saw the Filipina player made it past the Croatian, with Eala carving a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win in their opening round match.
At Kooyong, that tale repeated as their rematch on Wednesday saw the 20-year-old emerge victorious once more, 6-3, 6-4.
The invitational, exhibition tournament serves as a warm-up for Eala, who is set to join the Australian Open 2026.
There, she will make her main draw debut and will face off in the opening round American player Alycia Parks.
This will be the latest tournament for Eala, who has been seen in various WTA tournaments around the world in the past, including Guadalajara Open, where she first got her WTA 125 trophy.