The challenges of the pros don’t stop soon as Filipina teen tennis sensation Alex Eala will meet the tournament’s 2nd seed right in the opening round of the second leg of the ITF Rafael Nadal Academy World Tennis Tour.

Eala, who bagged her maiden pro title in the tour’s first leg, will go head-to-head with Mirjam Bjorklund of Sweden on Wednesday, January 27 in Manacor, Spain. (FAST FACTS: Who is teen tennis sensation Alex Eala?)

Bjorklund, 22, is currently ranked No. 249 in the ITF women’s singles, and has reached a career-high world No. 4 in April 2019.

The 15-year-old Filipina tennis ace, though, has an optimistic chance after impressing in the opening tournament of the tour.

She registered wins against ITF singles world No. 2 and the event’s top seed Seone Mendez in the 2nd round, and the tournament No. 5 Carole Monnet of France in the quarterfinals.

She then cruised to the finals to defeat 28-year-old hometown bet Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers and bag the $15,000 title.

Eala is also entered in the third leg of the tour as the Australian Open canceled this year’s juniors tournament, denying her doubles title defense.

After kicking off the 2020 season with her maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne, the 15-year-old tennis star became the Philippines’ first junior Grand Slam semifinalist in 35 years in the Roland Garros girls singles tournament.  – Rappler.com