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MANILA, Philippines – After a productive two-week swing in Thailand where she copped her second pro singles title, Alex Eala found herself reaching a career-high in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) world rankings.
The 16-year-old Eala climbed 161 rungs in the world rankings released by the WTA on Monday, April 18, and is now tied with four other players at 411th in the world.
Before the two International Tennis Federation Futures events she joined in Thailand, Eala was ranked 572nd in the world. Her previous career-high was 505, which she achieved in August 2021.
The Filipina teen prodigy won the ITF W25 Chiang Rai last April 10 after defeating former world No. 66 and hometown bet Luksika Kumkhum of Thailand in the finals, 6-4, 6-2.
She was not as fortunate the following week when she fell in three sets to 33-year-old French-Japanese Erika Sema in the quarterfinals of the second Chiang Rai ITF tournament on April 15.
With her latest achievement, Eala is now the second-highest ranked female player in Southeast Asia, next only to Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia who is 352nd in the world.
The two will most likely cross paths in the SEA Games in Vietnam in May, where Eala has committed to see action for the Philippines. Sutjiadi won two golds in women’s singles and mixed doubles in the 2019 SEA Games.
Eala’s current standing of 411th is the highest world ranking achieved by a tennis player from the Philippines since a then 19-year-old Katharina Lenhert reached 389th in 2013. – Rappler.com
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