Alex Eala seeded second in Hong Kong, faces Alycia Parks in opener
The world No. 19 and Parks will meet for the third time this year, with each having won one of their previous encounters.
Alex Eala will open her Hong Kong Tennis Open campaign against American Alycia Parks after being named the No. 2 seed at the WTA 250 event. Eala enters the tournament ranked No. 19 in the world.
Their two previous matches both took place this year. Parks won their Australian Open first-round contest in January, 0-6, 6-3, 6-2. Eala took the honours at the Canadian Open in August with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 victory.
Either Tereza Valentova of the Czech Republic or Sun Xinran of China awaits the winner in the second round. Eala's latest tournament ended in the Pan Pacific Open quarterfinals, where she was beaten by Diana Shnaider, who went on to win the title.
Romania's Sorana Cirstea heads the Hong Kong seedings. Leylah Fernandez, Maria Sakkari, Talia Gibson, Wang Xinyu, Liudmila Samsonova and Katie Boulter are also seeded. Venus Williams has a wildcard, while Alina Charaeva, Maya Joint, Dayana Yastremska and Zeynep Sonmez are also in the field.
