Alex partners with Venus in Bad Homburg

MANILA, Philippines — After etching history in Berlin, Alex Eala chases another one over in another German city – with no less than a legend as partner.

Eala rides the momentum of her impressive campaign in Berlin when she teams up with former world No. 1 Venus Williams of the United States in a groundbreaking partnership in the WTA500 Bad Homburg Open which kicks off today.

The 21-year-old Eala and the 46-year-old Williams will play a qualifier duo in Round 1, according to the official draw released by WTA yesterday.

The Filipina-American tandem is supposed to play Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and En-Shuo Liang of Chinese Taipei but the latter withdrew due to an injury, giving Eala and Williams an extra day of preparation pending the qualifiying round.

In the singles, the WTA No. 35 Eala will face a familiar foe in world No. 24 Elise Mertens of Belgium, who beat her in the opening round of the Madrid Open, 6-2, 6-1.

But excitement is higher on her team-up with the returning seven-time Grand Slam champion Williams.

“I am really, really excited,” said Eala, fresh from a bevy of feats in the WTA500 Berlin Open. Her campaign came to an end on a Final Four defeat against world No. 13 Linda Noskova of Czechia, 6-2, 6-4.

“Venus is such a trailblazer and continues to do so much and has done so much for the sport. I like to say that women’s tennis has been a trailblazer for women’s sports and she is a big part of why that is.”

Homburg will serve as Eala’s final preparation before the Wimbledon on June 29 to July 12 in London, where she’s entered as a seeded player – a history for the Philippines.

Eala is now 9-2 on grass this season including wins against world No. 33 Donna Vekic of Croatia, No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and No. 8 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine to gain 195 points and climb to No. 30 in the WTA live rankings.