MANILA, Philippines – Philippine tennis star Alex Eala hopes to crash the women’s pro circuit tournaments – particularly the Grand Slams – at the age of 14. 

The teen sensation targets a top 5 ranking in the world juniors tour for a shot at the wildcard berths in the women’s Grand Slam tournaments. 

“Towards the end of the year, I want to try to get my ranking a bit higher because the top 5, they get wildcards to women’s tournaments – higher level women’s tournaments – so next year is going to be a good mix of women’s and higher level juniors,” said Eala in an interview with Rappler. 

After her runner-up finish in the 2019 World Super Juniors Tennis Championships Osaka Mayor’s Cup, Eala amassed a total of 1,245 ITF points and rose to world No. 13 in the juniors division.  

Eala, who only started earning ITF points 16 months ago, hopes that she can rule the remaining two junior tournaments for the year to boost her 2020 ranking. 

The 18-year-olds in this year’s junior’s circuit are set to graduate by January 2020, which might just help the Filipina crack into the top 5. 

Although Eala was invited to the Southeast Asian Games women’s tennis team tryout, it will coincide with a Japan tournament that she’s slated to join.

The Rafael Nadal Academy scholar will also compete in the Eddie Herr International Junior Championships and Grade A tournament, and the 2019 Junior Orange Bowl International Tennis Championship, both in Florida, in December.  

This year, Eala impressed with her stints in the US Open juniors main draw and the World Juniors Tennis Championships where she led the Philippines to a record 5th place last August.  – Rappler.com