FILIPINO tennis ace Alexandra "Alex" Eala faces Italian Jasmine Paolini in the second round at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Tuesday.
The round of 32 match between world No. 47 Eala and No. 8 Paolini doesn't have a scheduled time at press time on Monday but is likely to be held late Tuesday night, Manila time.
Eala advanced to the second round after claiming a walkover win on Sunday night against American Hailey Baptiste, who retired after the first game of the second set due to injury.
The final score was 6-4, 0-1.
"Obviously no one likes advancing in this way," said the 20-year-old Eala in the post-match court interview.
"Being on Tour, I'm starting to discover on this level how difficult it is to maintain physically so I really hope that Hailey is okay and will bounce back soon," she added.
Paolini, on the other hand, entered the second round after receiving a first round bye.
The 30-year-old Paolini, a three-time singles champion, last saw action at the Qatar Open where she fell to Greek Maria Sakkari in the round of 32 last week.
In the same tournament, Eala bowed to Czech Tereza Valentova in the round of 64.
When Eala takes on Paolini, she will have the Filipino diaspora rallying behind her just like in her first round match.
"I'm super happy to be in the next round," said Eala.
"These tournaments are such a great experience for me, especially playing in front of the best crowd ever, so I'm really doing my best to try to enjoy every moment I have on the court."
No other Filipino has reached this level of play and status in tennis.
On Monday night, Eala and world champion gymnast Carlos Yulo were recognized as the male and female Athletes of the Year at the 2026 San Miguel Corporation-Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Annual Awards Night at the Diamond Hotel Manila.