By El Amigo
MANILA — Alex Eala continues to rewrite Philippine tennis history, reaching another career milestone after breaking into the world’s top 20 and climbing to a new career-high ranking of No. 17 in the latest Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) singles rankings.
The Filipina tennis star gained two places from No. 19 in the rankings released Monday, November 2, surpassing her previous best of No. 18 and further establishing herself as one of the rising forces in women’s professional tennis.
Her latest achievement also makes her the highest-ranked female tennis player from Southeast Asia in WTA history, improving on the previous regional record of No. 19 jointly held by Indonesian great Yayuk Basuki and Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn.
For Philippine tennis, Eala’s ascent represents another landmark moment in a career that has steadily brought the country into the international spotlight.
At just 21, Eala has continued to challenge established players on the WTA Tour, demonstrating that she can compete against some of the biggest names in the sport.
Her recent performances have provided further evidence of her growing consistency, highlighted by her quarterfinal appearance at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.
She defeated Australia’s Talia Gibson en route to the last eight before eventually falling to Russia’s Diana Shnaider in a hard-fought three-set match.
Eala, however, has little time to dwell on her latest ranking achievement as she remains in action at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open.
At press time Tuesday, the Filipina was scheduled to face American Alycia Parks in the Round of 32 of the WTA 250 tournament.
Parks presents a serious challenge, with her powerful serve and aggressive baseline game capable of troubling any opponent.
Eala will be hoping to carry her improved confidence and strong form into the Hong Kong competition as she seeks another deep tournament run.
With her ranking continuing to climb, expectations surrounding the young Filipina are also growing.
But beyond the numbers, Eala’s biggest contribution may be inspiring a new generation of Filipino athletes to believe that the country’s flag can fly proudly on the biggest stages of international tennis.
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