Alex Eala of the Philippines and Coco Gauff of the United States. Al Bello, Getty Images/AFP and Thomas Coex, AFP

Filipina tennis star Alex Eala is set to share the court with a Grand Slam champion anew -- but this time, they will be on the same side.

Eala will play doubles with former US Open champion and world No. 3 Coco Gauff of the United States in the Italian Open, her manager confirmed to ABS-CBN News early Thursday morning, Manila time.

READ: Alex Eala continues to rise, now ranked No. 70 by WTA

They will be up against Alexandra Panova of Russia and Fanny Stollár of Hungary in the round-of-32.

It's another milestone for the 19-year-old Eala, whose profile has grown steadily since her Cinderella run to the semifinals of the Miami Open in late March. She is currently ranked 70th by the WTA.

She begins her singles campaign in Rome against Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk on Thursday morning.

Eala has had great success in doubles at the juniors level, having won the 2020 Australian Open and the 2021 French Open. 

The 21-year-old Gauff is a former world No. 1 in doubles and won the 2024 French Open with Kateřina Siniaková of the Czech Republic.

Gauff is seeded fourth in the singles draw of the Italian Open and received a bye to the second round, where she will play Canada's Victoria Mboko.