Eala posts new career-high WTA ranking

Sports

ALEX Eala continues to soar higher.

She may have faltered in the inaugural Philippine Women’s Open but Eala moved up several notches higher in the latest Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings.

The 20-year-old Filipina tennis star moved up to a career-high No. 45, climbing four spots from her previous ranking of No. 49 in January.

Eala is the first Filipino tennis athlete to break into Top 50 in the WTA.

Eala’s rise in the WTA rankings came after she fell short in the Philippine Women’s Open where she could only manage a quarterfinal finish.

Eala dropped her Round of 8 match against eventual champion Camila Osorio of Colombia, 4-6, 4-6.

Before the quarterfinal, Eala scored impressive wins in the first two rounds. She first beat Russian Alina Charaeva, 6-1, 6-2, then prevailed over Japan’s Himeno Sakatsume, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.

Eala is set to see action in the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open, where she will take on world No. 79 Zeynep Sönmez of Turkey in the round of 32.

Eala will also compete in the doubles event where she will team up with Indonesia’s Janice Tjen in the Round of 16 against the Canadian-French pair of Leylah Fernandez and Kristina Mladenovic.(CCM)