MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala will open her Cincinnati Open campaign against either Poland’s Magda Linette or Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse after receiving a first-round bye as the tournament’s No. 17 seed.
Eala, 21, enters the WTA 1000 hardcourt tournament after reaching the round of 16 at the Canadian Open. She will make her Cincinnati debut after withdrawing from last year’s tournament because of a shoulder injury.
Linette and Ruse are scheduled to meet in the first round, with the winner advancing to face Eala.
Eala has split her four previous meetings with world No. 68 Linette. The Filipino won their two encounters this year at the ASB Classic and Miami Open after Linette defeated her at the Abu Dhabi Open and Nottingham Open last year.
Eala has faced world No. 77 Ruse once. The Romanian defeated Eala, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, in the US Open qualifying tournament two years ago.
If Eala advances, she could face No. 9 seed Amanda Anisimova in the third round. Anisimova will meet the winner of the first-round match between Eala’s close friend, Zeynep Sonmez of Turkiye, and Daria Kasatkina of Australia.
Eala heads into Cincinnati with seven wins in her last eight matches. Her career-best seven-match winning streak ended Monday when Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic defeated her in Toronto.
Eala won her first WTA Tour title on Aug. 3, defeating world No. 3 Jessica Pegula in the Mubadala DC Open final.
