FILIPINA tennis sensation Alex Eala has secured a late spot in the main draw of the WTA 500 Strasbourg Open after a withdrawal opened up a place in the field, giving the Filipina rising star an unexpected but timely boost ahead of the French Open.

Originally listed at the top of the qualifying list, Eala moved into the main draw after her former doubles partner, Hailey Baptiste of the United States, pulled out on Sunday.

The Strasbourg tournament serves as a key warm-up event for Roland Garros, which runs from May 24 to June 7 in Paris, making it an important stop in Eala’s clay-court buildup.

Eala enters the competition coming off a breakthrough run at the Italian Open, where she reached the third round of a clay-court event for the first time in her career before falling to world No. 2 Elena Rybakina, 6-4, 6-3.

In doubles action in Rome, Eala and Baptiste were eliminated in the opening round by the top-ranked pair of Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, 6-2, 6-1.

Should she advance past a yet-to-be-determined qualifier in Strasbourg, Eala is projected to face either world No. 39 Siniakova or fellow Czech player Marie Bouzkova in the second round.

This will be Eala’s fifth clay-court tournament of the season, part of her continued preparation for Roland Garros. Last year, she made her main draw debut at the French Open but exited in the first round after a three-set battle against Colombia’s Emiliana Arango.

Her clay swing this season has also included appearances in Linz, Stuttgart, and Madrid, helping her build experience against top-level competition.

Eala is also expected to improve her WTA ranking to No. 38 from No. 42 after earning valuable points from her Rome performance, according to live rankings.

Looking ahead, she is set to partner with Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko in the doubles draw at Roland Garros, marking the first time the two young players will team up on tour.