Alex Eala Gains Advantage at Singapore Open After Anisimova Withdrawal
Alex Eala returns to the tour this week with the spotlight burning as brightly as ever, and before she has even struck a ball in Singapore, the draw has shifted in her favour.
The world No. 18 is back in action at the WTA 500 Singapore Open, her first tournament since the US Open. Expectations are heavy. Eala has become one of the most followed players in the women’s game, and a deep run here feels less like a hope and more like a demand from her growing fanbase.
Now the path has cleared. At least on paper.
Anisimova withdrawal reshapes the draw
Amanda Anisimova, the world No. 11 and second seed in Singapore, has withdrawn from the tournament with a left wrist injury after already travelling to play the event. She has been replaced in the main draw by lucky loser Viktoria Morvayova.
For Eala, it is a significant development. The Filipina star, seeded third this week, had been projected to face Anisimova in the semifinals. Instead, the four-time WTA champion and two-time Grand Slam finalist is gone, and with her, one of the most dangerous obstacles in Eala’s half of the draw.
Anisimova reached two Slam finals last season, falling to Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon and Aryna Sabalenka at the US Open. She also holds a winning head-to-head record over Eala, having beaten her in their only previous meeting, in the Cincinnati Open round of 32 earlier this year.
That history matters. It’s one thing to avoid a top seed; it’s another to avoid a player who already knows how to beat you.
Her absence has blown the Singapore draw wide open. And Eala, suddenly, is one of the central beneficiaries.
One match at a time – starting with Prozorova
For all the noise around the bracket, Eala’s immediate task is simple and unforgiving: win the next match.
Her first opponent in Singapore will be Tatiana Prozorova. The Russian arrives with some rhythm, having battled past Sofia Costoulas in the opening round to earn a shot at the third seed. It will be the first meeting between Eala and Prozorova, a fresh matchup with no shared history to lean on.
Eala cannot afford to look past it. Not with a returning schedule, not with the eyes of a nation on her, and not with the kind of pressure that comes when a tournament suddenly looks winnable.
Andreeva looms, Vekic falls, door opens wider
With Anisimova out, Eala is now the second-highest-ranked player left in the field, behind only top seed Mirra Andreeva. The projected storyline is obvious: the two rising stars on opposite sides of the draw, on course for a showdown in the final if they can hold their nerve through the week.
Andreeva opens her campaign against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, who came through Daria Kasatkina in her first match. If the seedings hold, Andreeva and Eala will collide for the title. That’s a big if in a week that has already seen the script torn up more than once.
Eala’s route has eased again. She had been on course to face Donna Vekic in the quarterfinals, but the Croatian suffered a heavy 6-1, 6-2 defeat to Xinyu Wang in her opener. Another potential roadblock removed, another section of the draw unexpectedly softened.
The opportunity is there now, unmistakable and enticing. A favourable draw, a high seeding, and the absence of a proven nemesis in Anisimova.
What Eala does with that opportunity, under the lights in Singapore, will say plenty about where her season is truly heading.
