Alex Eala was ahead by a set in her Round of 32 matchup against Dutch hitter Anouk Koevermans before rain forced the match to a stop in Center Court at the Oeiras Ladies Open in Portugal on Monday afternoon.
Eala, competing in her first tournament since the Miami Open, nabbed the first set, 6-3, after gaining momentum late before the play stopped in the second set.
The match was delayed thrice already as of press time, with the first coming in the second set right after Eala broke Koevermans’ serve in Game 5 to get within a game of her opponent, 2-3, which curved the Dutch hitter’s momentum after winning three straight games.
After about 20 minutes, the match resumed when the rain stopped briefly, with Koevermans restoring her two-game advantage, 4-2. But as the rain poured on, the game was once again halted.
An hour passed before a restart was attempted. However, during the warmups, the rain grew stronger again which ultimately delayed the game anew before they could actually restart the match.
Rain has continued on for the past hour with the court already flooding.
It has yet to be decided if the match will be resumed also on Monday or on a later date.
Eala is the top seed in the tournament and she is currently looking for her first WTA title.