FILIPINO tennis ace Alexandra "Alex" Eala will play in her final buildup for the Australian Open at the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne.
The exhibition tournament is set from Jan. 13–15.
The field also includes retired netter and now commentator Daniela Hantuchova as well as world No. 121 Priscilla Hon of Australia and No. 69 Donna Vekic of Croatia.
Eala and Vekic just battled at the ASB Classic Round of 32 last Tuesday with Eala eking out a come-from-behind win, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
After the Kooyong Classic, Eala will make her Australian Open debut on Jan. 18.
Meanwhile, Eala pocketed a prize money of $12,331 or more than P731,000 for her semifinal finish at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand.
Eala yielded to Chinese Wang Xinyu, 7-5, 5-7, 4-6, in their semifinal clash on Saturday.
Aside from the money, Eala also 98 ranking points (83 net gain) for a total of 1159 that will give her a new career-high of 49th at the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings.
That's one notch higher than Eala's previous career-best and four higher than her current ranking.
"I just want to thank every single one of you for your support, taking the time and effort out of your day to be there and cheer me on with the other girls," said Eala in a Facebook video by ASB Classic.
"It means so much, especially at this time of the year. I couldn't thank you more and I had such a fun time playing here in Auckland, and I hope I can be back next year."