MIAMI, Florida — As the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Miami Open begins today, March 18, Filipina tennis sensation Alexandra 'Alex' Eala enters the tournament as a huge underdog with formidable foes coming right out of the gates.

For the third time in four years, Eala has been given an automatic spot in the main draw of the competitions, where she is tagged as one of eight players who received wildcard entries to one of the biggest events in the pro circuit outside of the Grand Slams and the WTA finals.

The 19-year-old prodigy, though, will be facing serious opposition as she pits her skills against a formidable foe in world's number 73 Katie Volynets of the United States.

The Pinay teen standout, ranked 140th in the world, will be up against the hometown crowd who will be sure to root for the Ukraine-born Volynets, who has a career-high world no. 56 rank and will have the advantage over Eala not just in rankings but also in experience in high-level matches.

Eala has made the second round of WTA events only twice in her young career—in the 2021 WTA 250 Cluj-Napoca Winners Open in Romania and the WTA 1000 Mutua Madrid Open in Spain.

On the other hand, the 24-year-old Volynets has made the third round of the 2022 Australian Open and second round of the French Open (2022 and 2024) and the 2024 US Open. She also made the 3rd round of two WTA 1000 tournaments in 2024, the Indian Wells Open and the China Open. She is known for her patience in playing wide while waiting for the opportunity to unleash her attacking game.

The highest ranked player that Eala has defeated was then world No. 41 Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine in 2024. Volynets holds victories over Veronika Kudermetova and Mirra Andreeva of Russia, Ons Jabeur of Tunisia and Sofa Kenin of the United States—all of whom formerly ranked in the top 10 in the world.

The only tactical advantage Eala has is her hunger for an opportunity to finally get going this season after exiting in the second round of WTA Challenger Mumbai in India and two ITF W75 tournaments in Slovakia. She will be hoping that Volynets has not yet stirred from her own slump, following her elimination in the opening rounds of her last three events, all of which were WTA tournaments.

The winner of the Round of 128 encounter between Eala and Volynets will next face world's no. 25 and 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia.