Alex Eala will open her WTA 500 Ningbo Open campaign against France's Diane Parry in the first round.
Eala is world No. 19. Parry, 24, is world No. 32. The main draw begins Monday, and Eala's match schedule has yet to be announced, GMA News reports.
Parry won her first WTA title at Monterrey in August. Her recent results are leaner: Round of 64 exits at the China Open and the Wuhan Open, according to GMA News.
It will be their first meeting on the WTA Tour, Inquirer reports. Both won their maiden WTA titles this year, Eala at the DC Open in Washington and Parry in Monterrey. Inquirer adds that Ningbo is one of Eala's final three tournaments of her first full season on tour.
Eala arrives looking to end a slump. She lost to Tatiana Prozorova in Singapore. She entered the Asian Games as the gold favourite but fell to China's Wang Xiyu in a three-set semifinal. Then she lost to China's Shi Han in three sets in Wuhan, Philstar reports.
The top four seeds, led by defending champion Elena Rybakina, have first-round byes, per Inquirer. The Eala–Parry winner will face either sixth seed Diana Shnaider or a qualifier in the second round.
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