By Danielle Tiu
MANILA — Rising Filipina tennis star Alex Eala begins her 2026 Italian Open journey with a first-round showdown against Poland’s Magdalena Frech on Tuesday (Philippine time).
Eala took part in practice sessions ahead of the tournament, officially called the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, which gathers the world’s top-ranked players.
Ranked No. 42, Eala will be meeting Frech, currently No. 45, for the first time in their careers. Frech has previously reached a career-high ranking of No. 22.
The competition in Rome is expected to be fierce, with top names including defending champion Jasmine Paolini and Madrid Open titlist Marta Kostyuk in the field.
Last year, Eala bowed out in the first round after losing to Kostyuk. She later made a strong run in doubles alongside Coco Gauff, reaching the quarterfinals before losing to the Italian tandem of Paolini and Sara Errani.
The victor of the opening-round match will face Xinyu Wang in the next stage. Frech enters the match struggling, having dropped her last five singles matches.
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