No first-round bye for projected No. 13 seed Eala at Wuhan

MANILA, Philippines — Due to a smaller draw, projected No. 13 seed Alex Eala won't receive a first-round bye at the WTA 1000 Wuhan Open in China. The Filipino tennis ace will compete in the tournament -- her first Tour event after a bronze medal finish at the 20th Asian Games in Japan -- slated from October 12 to 18. Unlike most 1000 events where 96 players make up the field and the top 32 players receive first-round byes, Wuhan is limited to a 56-player draw. In this case, only the top eight get to skip the first round and start their campaign in the second. The same rule applies to the only two other 1000 events with a 56-player draw in Doha and Dubai. Thus, world No. 18 Eala won't have the bye she used to have in previous 1000 events. The 56-player draw -- comprised of 43 direct entrants, 8 qualifiers, 4 widlcards, and 1 special exemption -- is also the reason why Eala had to go through the qualifiers last year. Eala was No. 58 at the time and therefore could not get a direct entry. She lost to Moyuka Uchijima in the first round of the qualifiers last year, 4-6, 6-3, 2-6. This year, Eala...