![\"Wuhan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/wuhan-open-day-1-wuhan-china-october-12-alexandra-eala-4.jpg\")
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WUHAN, CHINA – OCTOBER 12: Alexandra Eala of Philippines celebrates against Shi Han of China on day one of Wuhan Open at Optics Valley International Tennis Center on October 12, 2026 in Wuhan, China. (Photo by Di Yin\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Alex Eala<\/a> will return to Center Court at the Ningbo Open on Thursday, but Filipino tennis<\/a> fans will have to wait a little longer than initially expected to watch her face one of the tournament\u2019s top seeds.<\/p>\n Eala\u2019s second-round match<\/a> against sixth-seeded Diana Shnaider is now tentatively scheduled for 3:20 p.m. Philippine time, according to the updated Tennis.com tournament schedule<\/a>.<\/p>\n The revised listing represents a two-hour, 20-minute adjustment from the previously projected 1 p.m. start.<\/p>\n For viewers in the United States, the match is listed for approximately 3:20 a.m. Eastern on Thursday, Oct. 22.<\/p>\n The match will again take place on Center Court at the Yinzhou International Tennis Centre in Ningbo, China, where Eala began her campaign with a convincing victory Monday.<\/p>\n The starting time remains tentative and could change depending on the length of the preceding matches.<\/p>\n Alex Eala Gets Another Center Court Match at Ningbo Open<\/p>\n \n Eala\u2019s return to the tournament\u2019s main court comes after an impressive opening-round performance against France\u2019s Diane Parry.<\/p>\n The 21-year-old Filipino defeated the world No. 34, 6-3, 6-1, in just 77 minutes Monday, snapping a three-match losing streak.<\/p>\n After a tightly contested start, Eala seized control by winning seven consecutive games, turning a 3-3 opening set into a commanding 6-3, 4-0 lead.<\/p>\n She finished with 12 winners and just nine unforced errors, while Parry committed 25.<\/p>\n The victory was Eala\u2019s 34th tour-level win of the season, a significant improvement for a player who had accumulated only 15 such victories before 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very happy with my performance,\u201d Eala said in her postmatch interview.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI think it was a really good first round, tough first round.\u201d<\/p>\n Eala also acknowledged the enthusiastic support she received in China, where Filipino fans once again turned out in significant numbers.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really happy to be here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Diana Shnaider Presents Tougher Test for Alex Eala<\/p>\n \n Eala\u2019s next opponent presents a more difficult challenge.<\/p>\n Shnaider, ranked No. 13 in the world, advanced after defeating Kazakhstan\u2019s Yulia Putintseva, 7-5, 7-6 (4), on Tuesday.<\/p>\n The Russian needed 2 hours, 26 minutes to secure the victory despite committing 49 unforced errors.<\/p>\n Shnaider has enjoyed a strong Asian swing, including a quarterfinal appearance at the Wuhan Open last week.<\/p>\n She defeated Karolina Muchova during that run before falling to Jelena Ostapenko.<\/p>\n Thursday\u2019s meeting will be the first between Eala and Shnaider on the WTA Tour.<\/p>\n Eala, currently ranked No. 20, is seeking her first consecutive match victories since the US Open and a place in the Ningbo quarterfinals.<\/p>\n Shnaider\u2019s left-handed game and aggressive groundstrokes should provide a different test from the one Eala faced against Parry.<\/p>\n The Filipino will need the same consistency she displayed Monday, particularly when returning serve.<\/p>\n Her ability to take the ball early and control rallies could determine whether she can unsettle the higher-ranked opponent.<\/p>\n For now, the schedule provides one certainty: Eala has another opportunity to compete on the tournament\u2019s biggest court.<\/p>\n Filipino fans should prepare for a tentative 3:20 p.m. Thursday start, with the possibility of further adjustments as the day\u2019s matches unfold.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAlder Almo<\/a> is a veteran NBA reporter for Heavy.com, covering the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors. He brings over 20 years of experience across local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Originally from the Philippines, he is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty WUHAN, CHINA – OCTOBER 12: Alexandra Eala of Philippines celebrates against Shi Han of China on day…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":890697,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[99,428],"class_list":["post-890696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=890696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890696\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/890697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=890696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=890696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=890696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Wuhan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/wuhan-open-day-1-wuhan-china-october-12-alexandra-eala.jpg\")
Getty\u00a0Alexandra Eala of Philippines celebrates against Shi Han of China on day one of Wuhan Open at Optics Valley International Tennis Center on October 12, 2026 in Wuhan, China.\n<\/p>\n![\"Wuhan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/wuhan-open-day-5-wuhan-china-october-16-diana-shnaider-1.jpg\")
GettyDiana Shnaider competes against Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia on day five of Wuhan Open at Optics Valley International Tennis Center on October 16, 2026 in Wuhan, China.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n