Alex Eala bags P2.6 million in Abu Dhabi

Tennis Alex Eala still pocketed a good sum of prize money after her exit in the recently concluded WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open in the UAE. The 20-year-old Eala had promising runs as she advanced to the quarterfinals and semis of singles and doubles events, respectively, where she bagged a combined amount of $45,859 (P2,683,314). Eala, currently No. 45 in the WTA rankings, earned her bigger pay in the singles of $35,000 (around P2 million) after she bowed to eventual runner-up in No. 2 seed Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in the quarters, 3-6, 3-6. She took home P635,429 in the doubles – half of the $21,720 semis purse which she shared the same amount with her Indonesian partner Janice Tjen. The two Southeast Asian stars succumbed in the semis to Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalíková and Great Britain’s Olivia Nicholls, 4-6, 2-6. But the journey in the Middle East extends for Eala as she struts her wares in two WTA 1000 competitions. These are the Qatar Open in Doha (Feb. 8-14), and the Dubai Tennis Championships (Feb. 15-21) which both attracted high-ranking players in the women\'s circuit. In Qatar, Eala is already assured of winning $18,300 (P1 million) in Round of 64 where she seeks a redemption win over...