ALEX Eala inched closer to the Top 200 of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings anew after a string of impressive stints in Europe.
Buoyed by her third pro title and a couple of playoff finishes, the 18-year-old Filipina jumped from No. 266 to 228 as per the latest WTA list this month
It’s the best placing for Ms. Eala in two months since getting at No. 215 in April. Her career-high was at No. 214 last year.
Ms. Eala’s improvement of 38 notches was made possible by a dominating championship run in the W25 Yecla in Spain for her first pro title this season. Overall, it’s her third after wins in 2021 W15 Manacor in Spain and 2022 W25 Chiang Rai in Thailand.
She is coming off a series of consecutive early exits in April that pulled her down the rankings before reviving her campaign with a quarterfinal finish in the W25 Monastir in Tunisia last month.
After her title conquest in Spain, she also made a quarterfinal finish in the W25 Madrid over the weekend.
The left-handed prodigy is already back in Mallorca Spain, where she’s based for years now as a scholar at the Rafael Nadal Academy. — John Bryan Ulanday