Philippine's rising star Alexandra Eala to debut at Dubai Tennis Open

Alexandra Eala, one of the fastest-rising talents on the WTA Tour, will debut at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships next week, organisers have confirmed.

The 20-year-old from the Philippines entered the World’s Top 40 on Monday morning and will compete in Dubai among a star-studded field that features 18 of the world’s top 20, including World No1 Aryna Sabalenka and last month’s Australian Open winner Elena Rybakina.

Eala, born in Quezon City, was ranked No139 in the world just 12 months ago, but has soared up the rankings in recent weeks courtesy of a series of strong showings.

Starting in New Zealand, she reached the semi-finals in Auckland before adding quarterfinal appearances in Manila and again last week in Abu Dhabi. She lost in Doha on Monday to Tereza Valentova 7(6), 6-1.

Running from February 15-21, Dubai’s flagship women’s tournament - marking its 26th edition this month - will once again bring together the game’s elite, with only the injured Madison Keys and Naomi Osaka missing from the top 20. It will see the participation of multiple Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek, American star Coco Gauff, reigning champion Mirra Andreeva and a host of other big names.

After her disappointment in Doha, Eala will relish the opportunity to test her rapidly developing game against the Tour’s established leaders again so quickly as she targets a breakthrough run at WTA 1000 level. Her Dubai debut forms part of a demanding early-season schedule that has already seen her make her Australian Open main-draw bow and win Melbourne’s Kooyong Classic exhibition.

Following the conclusion of WTA week, the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships will stage its ATP 500 men’s tournament from February 23-28.