For Eala, it’s about winning the next one

MANILA, Philippines — The sweet celebration can wait.

Fresh off a “herstoric” breakthrough in Washington, D.C., Alex Eala makes a quick turnaround in the second leg of her hardcourt swing leading to the US Open later this month.

Riding the momentum of her first WTA title, Eala looks to settle a score with Alycia Parks of the United States in Round 2 of the National Bank Open in Toronto.

Parks, who shares the record for the fastest serve in WTA history with Venus Williams at 129 mph – a mark she set at the 2021 US Open – rallied past Eala, 0-6, 6-3, 6-2, in their Round 1 encounter at the Australian Open earlier this year.

But it’s a fiercer and wiser Filipina warrior marching into Sobeys Stadium, eager to exact revenge – just as she did against a gauntlet of champions on her way to ruling the Mubadala Citi DC Open.

“I think I’ve improved as a player compared to the beginning of the year,” said Eala, who faces Parks in the final match of a four-match Round 2 slate at Centre Court, tentatively set at 8:10 a.m. today, Manila time.

Later in the day, Eala is teaming up with Venus Williams in the doubles versus Japanese Miyu Kato and Russian Liudmila Samsonova.

Eala and Parks arrive in Toronto on contrasting paths.

Eala, who soared to a new career-high No. 20 in the world and entered as the No. 25 seed, earned a first-round bye. Parks, ranked No. 71, had to grind out a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Andorra’s Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva, No. 122, in the Round of 128.

Eala holds all the advantages on paper – higher ranking, seeding, and momentum. The only downside is fatigue, after flying straight to Toronto from a championship photo shoot at the US Capitol following her triumph at the WTA 500 event.

For Eala, there will be a lifetime to celebrate. Right now, it’s all about winning the next one. No rest. No quit. No retreat, no surrender.

“It’s been a crazy 24 hours. My mind’s just been going back and forth between focusing on the next match and ‘Wow, did I really just do that?’” said Eala, who dethroned World No. 3 and top seed Jessica Pegula of the US, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, in a rain-delayed D.C. final.

“It’s a first for me so I’m learning how to handle it. But I’m playing another match so all my attention is on that. I had a day to transition. I have, I guess, all my life to celebrate my first WTA title.”

The DC Open was Eala’s first WTA Tour crown after two WTA 125 titles in Guadalajara and Birmingham, and she knows Toronto – a WTA 1000 – will be a tougher mountain to climb.