IN a tactical move apparently aimed at getting her more mentally and physically prepared before the US Open, Filipina tennis sensation Alex Eala is pulling out of the Cincinnati Open due to her left shoulder injury, the Women’s Tennis Association announced on its website yesterday (Wednesday in the US).
Playing with an aching left shoulder in her last tournament, Eala, 20, exited early, absorbing a 6-3, 1-6, 2-6 loss in the opening round of the women’s singles to former Czech Wimbledon champ Marketa Vondrousova in the National Bank Open presented by Rogers in Montreal, Canada.
It now seems that she will have to take more time to complete her recovery before she makes her debut in the main draw of the US Open starting Aug. 24 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York.
Now ranked No. 65 in the WTA world ratings, the pretty left-hander was supposed to be in the main draw of the Cincinnati Open, a WTA 1000 tourney, starting Aug. 7 at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.
