Both cut from the same cloth as former US Open junior champions, Alex Eala and American Kayla Day now find themselves on a collision course in the Guadalajara Open with a finals berth at stake.
Alex Eala has her sights set on another WTA final, with American Kayla Day standing in her way in the Guadalajara 125 Open semifinals.
Their match is set for early Saturday morning, Sept. 6 (Philippine time), at 2:10 a.m.
It will be the first meeting between the two rising players. The winner will move on to face either Russia’s Maria Kozyreva or Hungary’s Panna Udvardy in the championship round.
The 24-year-old is a former junior world no. 1 player, winning the U.S. Open girls’ singles title in 2016, six years before Eala claimed the same crown.
That same year, Day made her Grand Slam debut in the U.S. Open before competing in two more majors in 2017. But injuries stalled her momentum, forcing a six-year wait before she returned to the Grand Slam stage at the 2023 French Open and U.S. Open.
After another injury setback kept her out for seven months in 2024, Day has worked her way back this season.
She claimed a WTA 35 title in South Haven, Mississippi earlier this year, beating top-seeded Ana Sofia Sánchez of Mexico.
In Guadalajara, Day is riding high after knocking out third seed Emiliana Arango of Colombia, 7-5, 6-2, to earn her place in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, the Filipina — the highest-seeded player left in the draw — pulled off two wins in one day to book her first final four appearance since the Eastbourne Open last June.
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