Bye shows how far Alex Eala has come in women’s tennis

Now ranked 20th in the world, Alex Eala doesn’t need to scrounge for main draw slots in top-level WTA tournaments.

She’s getting first-round byes now, a privilege accorded to high-ranked players.

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The 21-year-old Filipino superstar will have some more time to cool her heels after a busy last two weeks before she plays either Magda Linette of Poland or Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the third round of the Cincinnati Open, another WTA 1000 event that starts Thursday at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.

Seeded 17th in Ohio, Eala stumbled out in the round of 16 of the National Bank Open in Toronto, a couple of days back after taking a straight-sets loss at the hands of Belinda Bencic. The defeat ended a seven-match winning streak that stretched back to Washington DC, where she won her first WTA title, the Mubadala DC Open.

Before being seeded into tournaments, Eala would either be given wild cards or have to play through a qualifier to get through the main draws.

She not only comes to events as a legitimate force, but also one who packs venues to the rafters because of the strong support coming from Filipino communities abroad. The Toronto tournament, for example, had to transfer Eala to center court because of the ticket demand the event was getting.

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“As we say, I’ve come far, but I have still farther to go,” Eala said.

Even the game’s biggest stars like Coco Gauff of the United States and Naomi Osaka of Japan have welcomed this as a big development for the women’s tour.

“I like that Alex brings a whole new demographic [to the WTA] tour,” Gauff, who battles Elena Rybakina in the semifinals in Toronto, had said in one interview.

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“[I] know you were mostly supporting Alex. But I have to say, it is great to be on a crowded court,” said Gauff after a 6-0, 6-2 win over Eala in Dubai, in February. “I’ve played this tournament for many years. And to see the stadium full, it means a lot.”

Mubadala DC and National Bank Open organizers even bared that they have never experienced a sell-out like this before. The last time the National Bank Open sold out an opening Wednesday was two decades ago, courtesy of Serena Williams.

Eala is in the third group of the Cincinnati Open draw with American Jessica Pegula, the player she beat in come-from-behind style to win the Mubadala Open, leading the bracket.

Also on her side of the draw is Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic, the 20-year-old who beat countrywoman Karolina Muchova in the Wimbledon finals.

Noskova suffered a second-round exit in Toronto, her first tournament after fulfilling all her media commitments for winning in London. She is expected to be a lot sharper now than the way she played against Caty McNally in Canada, where she lost in straight sets. Eala eventually bundled out McNally.