Venus Williams encourages Alex Eala to try playing doubles with her new partner after the Canadian Open.
Venus Williams has suggested to Alex Eala that she should team up with her sister, Serena Williams, for a doubles event in the future after the Canadian Open.
Venus and Alex played doubles together in Toronto but lost in the round of 32 to Liudmila Samsonova and Miyu Kato from Japan. Earlier in June, they teamed up at the Bad Homburg Open, where they won a match before losing in the quarter-finals to second seeds Teresa Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls.
Thursday night was their first match together since then. Alex had decided to skip the doubles at the Washington Open to focus on singles, where she won her first WTA 500 title.
The 21-year-old from the Philippines has been making waves in tennis lately. Her opening match at the Canadian Open sold out in just a few hours. It was so popular that they moved her match to Centre Court because so many people wanted to watch her play.
In fact, one food vendor at the stadium even changed one of their menu items to celebrate Alex’s fans! Thanks to her win in Washington, she’s now ranked in the top 20 in the WTA rankings. Even so, she’s still excited about playing doubles early in her career.
After their doubles loss in Toronto, Venus encouraged Alex to team up with Serena someday. “I think Alex has to put on her list to play with Serena someday,” Venus said. “Then she can complete the Williams sisters!”
Venus and Serena are set to play doubles again at the Cincinnati Open next week. Venus added, “The whole world was excited for Wimbledon, but it didn’t go as we hoped. Hopefully, we can get back on court and pick up where we left off.”
Alex said it’s very inspiring to watch the Williams sisters play. “They have done so much for tennis and keep helping women in sports. I remember watching Serena’s singles match at Wimbledon from the stands, so getting to see them live up close now is a real treat.”