Melbourne: Filipino tennis sensation Alexandra Eala will kick off her campaign at the Australian Open against American Alycia Parks at Melbourne Park on Sunday.

According to Philippines News Agency, the 20-year-old Eala reached a career-high ranking of No. 49 after making it to the semifinals of the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand on January 10. Eala, who was seeded No. 4 in the WTA 250 event, was ultimately defeated by No. 7 seed Chinese Wang Xinyu with scores of 7-5, 5-7, 4-6.

At the Kooyong Classic exhibition on Wednesday, Eala, who is also the 2025 SEA Games gold medalist, secured a victory against Croatian Donna Vekic, winning the match 6-3, 6-4. Eala also claimed victory over the 2024 Paris Olympics silver medalist during the ASB Classic round of 32, with scores of 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Eala hopes to maintain her momentum when she faces the 6-foot-1 Alycia Parks, who is currently ranked No. 100 in the WTA rankings. Parks, a winner of three WTA 125 titles, achieved her highest ranking at No. 40 in 2023. The Atlanta native made history during her Grand Slam debut at the 2021 US Open by matching Venus Williams' record for the fastest serve by a woman, clocking in at 129 mph.

Eala made history as the first Filipino to win a Grand Slam match in the Open era by defeating 14th seed Clara Tauson with scores of 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11) during the first round of the 2025 US Open. Additionally, as a wild card at the WTA1000 Miami Open, she defeated three Grand Slam champions consecutively to reach the semifinals.

Eala claimed her first WTA title by overcoming Hungary's Panna Udvardy with scores of 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 at the Guadalajara 125 Open in Mexico last September.