Filipina tennis phenom Alex Eala moved up five places in the WTA rankings, marking a new career-best after her campaign in the Abu Dhabi Open.
Alex Eala notched another career-best in the WTA rankings, rising to world no. 40 in the latest edition released on Monday.
This is after her quarterfinals bid in the Abu Dhabi Open, her first WTA 500 tournament of the year.
Eala dazzled in the campaign with a resounding comeback victory over Aliaksandra Sasnovich in an almost three-hour netfest where she battled back from being down 0-4 and a point away from 0-5 in the deciding third set that clinched her spot in the next round.
[RELATED: Alex Eala mounts epic comeback vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich, reaches Abu Dhabi QF]
However, she fell short of making it onto the semifinals after a loss against Ekaterina Alexandrova, who has broken through to the Top 10 in this week’s ranking.
Eala’s latest move pushes her 100 spots since she went on a blazing run to the semifinals of the Miami Open last year, where she was given a wild card as the WTA No. 140. The meteoric rise came in less than a year for the 20-year-old netter.
The new career-best comes ahead of Eala’s first WTA 1000 tournament, as she plays in the Qatar Open on Monday, February 9.
Eala faces off against WTA No. 48 Tereza Valentova in the Round of 64 on Monday evening, Manila time, in the hopes of pulling a deep run in her first foray into the top-level tournament this season.
[RELATED: Alex Eala draws 18-year-old former nemesis to start the Qatar Open]
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.