MANILA — Alexandra Eala is hitting the reset button after a grueling stretch that produced seven consecutive victories, taking a brief break from tennis before plunging back into action at the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open.
The 21-year-old Filipina plans to spend only a day or two away from the court following her fourth-round exit at the National Bank Open in Toronto, where Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic halted her winning streak with a 6-4, 6-0 victory.
“I definitely will take maybe two days off, a day or two. I do have to travel to Cincinnati,” Eala said in a post-match interview.
The brief respite comes after a demanding run that saw Eala capture her maiden WTA Tour singles title at the Mubadala DC Open in Washington before carrying her momentum into Toronto and reaching the Round of 16.
Her victories across the two tournaments stretched her winning streak to seven matches before the more experienced Bencic stopped her Toronto campaign.
With another major tournament looming, Eala said she intends to temporarily put tennis aside and attend to some personal matters before returning to competition.
“I need to get a haircut. I haven’t gotten a haircut in a while. My nails are grown out. So, yeah, I’ll do a couple things, just to get my mind off tennis,” she said.
Eala also plans to reconnect with friends once she arrives in Cincinnati, using the limited downtime to recharge mentally after weeks of competition.
“I’ll reunite maybe with some friends in Cincinnati, and just try to have fun,” she added.
There will be little time for an extended break, however, with Eala set to quickly return to training for another WTA 1000 challenge.
“I’ll be back on court like that, so I got to enjoy what I have. I got to enjoy the time that I have that I’m not on court,” she said.
Eala is scheduled to compete next at the Cincinnati Open, where she will look to regain the momentum that carried her through her title-winning Washington campaign and deep run in Toronto./PN
