ALEX EALA is out to pounce on her remarkable campaign in Canberra last week to make more of an impression and soar to new heights in the much-awaited Australian Open qualifying round today at Melbourne Park.

Fresh off a semifinal finish in the Workday Canberra International as an unseeded player all the way from the qualifiers, Ms. Eala will have her mettle tested once again at 7 a.m. (Manila time) against Croatia’s Janna Fett in Round 1.

Her Final Four run in Canberra was her first-ever deep campaign in a top-class Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 125 tourney, making it a good stepping stone to her bid in marking another history in the world’s first major this year.

“I fought hard last week but the path in 2025 has just begun,” posted 19-year-old Filipina pride on her social media account after landing in Melbourne over the weekend. “Next stop is the Australian Open.”

After etching a career-best year-end ranking at No. 147 of the WTA, Ms. Eala started the New Year with a bang by stringing five straight wins in Canberra as her first tournament this season.

But there will be a bigger mountain to climb for her from there on as she aims to become the first-ever Filipina tennister to play in a Grand Slam main draw.

She will net for that dream starting in Round 1 of the grueling three-round, 128-player cast against a familiar rival in 28-year-old Ms. Fett, a grizzled veteran with a WTA ranking of No. 136 and 14 pro titles including in the singles and doubles.

Back in 2021, Ms. Eala bowed to Ms. Fett in a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 marathon in the W25 Manacor but has improved by leaps and bounds since then to stand a pretty chance to advance.

A win by Ms. Eala, holder of eight pro titles in her budding career, would propel her to a second-round outing against the winner between Slovakia’s Victoria Hrunkacova (WTA No. 168) and Austria’s Sinja Kraus (WTA No. 211).

From there, she would need only a single victory to clinch one of the 16 main draw tickets in the qualifiers, a feat that she fell just short of achieving in the finale of the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open last year. — John Bryan Ulanday