Alex Eala will bring an end to her 2026 season at the Hong Kong Tennis Open, where Venus Williams is also playing.
Eala has enjoyed the best season of her career so far this year, winning her first WTA title at the Washington Open, reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon and breaking into the top 20.
The Filipina has not enjoyed so much success since the US Open, with Eala losing to Diana Shnaider again at the Tokyo Open.
As Eala will hope to finish her season in style at the Hong Kong Open, where both her and Williams’ draws have now been revealed.
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Alex Eala will play Alycia Parks in the first round of the Hong Kong Open
Eala is the second seed at the Hong Kong Open this year, and she now knows that she will face American Alycia Parks in her opening match at the tournament. This will be a third meeting between Eala and Parks, with their head-to-head currently level at one win apiece.
Parks won their first match at the Australian Open earlier this year, before Eala got revenge with a three-set win at the Canadian Open in Toronto.
If Eala is able to make it back-to-back wins against Parks, then she knows that she will face a teenager in the second round in either Tereza Valentova or rising Chinese star Xinran Sun. Sun is the current US Open junior champion and is still competing at the Guangzhou Open.
Some of the other potential threats to Eala in the Hong Kong draw include former world number three Maria Sakkari, who she has never played before, and Xinyu Wang, who she lost to in their only previous match on hard courts.
Eala will be hoping to overcome these threats and reach the final of the Hong Kong Open, where she would be forecast to play Sorana Cirstea. While this is the final tournament of Eala’s season, the Hong Kong Open is set to be the final tournament of Cirstea’s entire career, with the 36-year-old stating her intent to retire after this year.
It is a very different situation for Williams, who will be seeking her first singles victory of the 2026 season at the Hong Kong Open, where she has received a wildcard to compete.
Williams has lost 16 singles matches in a row, including recently to Lilli Tagger in the first round of the Guangzhou Open, and she will be hoping to change that in Hong Kong.
In the first round of the Hong Kong Open, Williams will face fellow American Mary Stoiana, who is 23 years her junior and is someone she has never played before. Stoiana has enjoyed the best season of her career in 2026 and is closing in on breaking into the top 100 for the first time.
Williams beating Stoiana would be a big moment for the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion in itself, but if she is able to overcome her compatriot then she could face the aforementioned Cirstea in the second round.
This year will mark Williams’ fourth appearance at the Hong Kong Open, having made it all the way to the semi-finals back in 2015. Eala made her debut in Hong Kong last year, where she beat Katie Boulter in the first round, before losing her second round match to eventual champion Victoria Mboko, who will not be defending her title this year as she continues to recover from injury.
The 2026 Hong Kong Open main draw will get underway from Monday, November 2, as Eala and Williams look to finish their seasons in style.
