Alex Eala advances in French Open women's doubles with Renata Zarazua

Filipino tennis star Alex Eala advanced to the second round of the French Open (Roland-Garros) women's doubles tournament with her Mexican partner Renata Zarazua.

On May 28, Philippine time, Eala and Zarazua beat Emily Appleton (United Kingdom) and Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers (Spain), 7 to 5 and 6 to 4.

They were supposed to play with Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk and Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse, but their match was canceled.

Eala and Zarazua will next face Serbia's Olga Danilovic and Anastasia Potapova of Russia.

Eala made an early exit in the singles division on May 25 after losing to Colombia’s Emiliana Arango, with a score of 0 to 6, 6 to 2, and 3 to 6.

Eala, who just celebrated her 20th birthday in Paris, is the first Filipino to compete in a Grand Slam.

She quickly rose to fame in March after finishing in the semifinals during the Miami Open, historically beating three Grand Slam winners in Jenna Ostapenko, Madison Keys, and Iga Swiatek.

From being 140th in the world, Eala moved up to becoming No. 69 in the Women's Tennis Association rankings.

Eala began her training at 13 years old in Rafael Nadal's academy in Mallorca, Spain.

The Roland-Garros 2025 will run from May 19 to June 8.