Filipino tennis player Alexandra "Alex" Eala continues her journey at the WTA 1000 Italian Open in Rome, shifting her focus to the doubles competition.
Eala faced a disappointing exit in singles, losing to Elena Rybakina in the third round with a score of 4-6, 3-6.
Now, she has joined forces with American Hailey Baptiste after the originally scheduled pair, Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Leylah Fernandez, withdrew at the last minute.
Eala and Baptiste, who were next on the alternate list, will compete against the No. 2 seeded duo of Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend in their opening match on Tuesday.
Siniakova and Townsend are currently ranked as the top two doubles players in the world.
Eala, at a career-high ranking of No. 88, and Baptiste, ranked No. 129, look to make an impact together.
This will not be Eala's first encounter with Siniakova and Townsend; she previously faced them in the Madrid Open doubles, where she partnered with Zeynep Sonmez.
In that match, Eala and Sonmez lost to the eventual champions with scores of 1-6, 5-7.
Interestingly, Eala and Baptiste have faced each other before, with Eala winning their singles encounters 2-0.
As the tournament progresses, fans will be watching closely to see how this new partnership unfolds.