Alex Eala returns to action, draws rising Czech teen Tereza Valentova in Japan Women’s Open opener

Alex Eala’s next test on the Asian circuit comes with an intriguing twist — a clash between two of tennis’ brightest young prospects.

The 20-year-old Filipina star will open her Japan Women’s Open campaign against Czech teenager Tereza Valentova, with their first-round encounter set for Tuesday afternoon at the Utsubo Tennis Center in Osaka.

Eala enters the tournament fresh from a brief recharge period after bowing out early in the Wuhan Open qualifiers, where she fell to Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima in the opening round. The short break, however, may have been just what she needed to reset and refocus for the season’s final stretch.

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It’s ALEX EALA VS TEREZA VALENTOVA for the Japan Open R32 happening at court 1 today. They start after the Volynets-Maneiro match not before 1:30pm.

18-yr old Valentova is ranked WTA#78 with a career-high of #75. She holds a strong 43/11 W/L record for this year.

WTA Site pic.twitter.com/6BpC1BWwGu

— Dyan Castillejo (@DYANCASTILLEJO) October 14, 2025

Valentova, meanwhile, has been one of the fast-rising names on the WTA Tour this year. The 18-year-old Czech earned her place in the Japan Women’s Open main draw the hard way, navigating through qualifiers with victories over Alina Charaeva and Belgium’s Greet Minnen — a familiar name to Eala, who faced the same opponent in Suzhou last week.

Currently ranked world No. 78, just a few spots off her career-high of No. 75 set in mid-September, Valentova has already made her presence felt on the biggest stages. 

She reached the second round of both the French Open and the US Open, where she faced top-tier opposition in Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina, respectively.

For Eala, who sits inside the WTA Top 60 after a breakthrough year featuring multiple deep runs at the WTA 125 level, the Osaka opener presents both a challenge and an opportunity — a chance to reassert her momentum before heading to China for back-to-back WTA 250 tournaments in Guangzhou and Hong Kong.

It’s a matchup between two future stars on diverging yet equally promising paths — one seeking to consolidate her rise, the other eager to prove she belongs among the tour’s elite.

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