Alex Eala advances to Suzhou Open Round of 16 after rain-delayed win

Filipino tennis prodigy Alex Eala advanced to the Round of 16 in the WTA 125 Suzhou Open after defeating Poland's Katarzyna Kawa, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.

The match experienced two delays due to rain, and Eala had to overcome a deficit in the third set to secure her victory.

Eala, ranked world No. 58, took two hours and 27 minutes to eliminate Kawa, who is ranked world No. 124.

It was revenge for Eala after losing to Kawa in three sets in the ITF Templeton Open in California back in 2022.

Eala will face Belgium's Greet Minnen, ranked world No. 106, in the next round.

Minnen, who has been competing professionally for over seven years, reached a career-high ranking of World No. 59 in 2023.

Minnen's best Grand Slam performance was reaching the Round of 32 at the 2023 US Open.

This is the first career meeting between Eala and Minnen.

Eala, the No. 4 seed, is playing her final tournament before the WTA 1000 Wuhan Open qualifying rounds.