By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Filipina tennis superstar Alex Eala skyrocketed her world ranking to no. 228 after clinching her first professional tennis title of the year last June 4, 2023.
Eala improved 38 places higher than her previous world ranking of no. 266 and earned a major point boost when she ruled the W25 Yecla tennis tournament held in Spain.
The 18-year-old tennis superstar overcame all obstacles and took down Swiss ace Valentina Ryser- 6.3, 7.5- and capped off her incredible run at Spain after only losing three total sets since the first round of the tourney.
This new world ranking is Eala’s best place so far after kicking off her playing calendar with a series of early exits and shocking losses.
Despite the rough start, Eala was able to find her groove during the past two months and started to put up several semifinal finishes in her International Tennis Federation (ITF) circuit stint.
Eala started by clinching a quarterfinal spot in the W25 Monastir tournament in Tunisia and just kept on rolling in her next four competitions.
Amid her busy professional career, Eala will be back serving the country after confirming her participation in the upcoming 2023 Asian Games to be held in China this September.
After taking a break during the recently concluded 2023 Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia, the 18-year-old star will once again seek to help the national team clinch the gold medal in the Asian Games.
The last time Eala played for the PHL was during the SEA Games Vietnam edition where she bagged the bronze medal in Hanoi.
After that, Eala decided to skip national team duties and focus on her professional tennis career where she currently aims to improve her ranking by joining the ITF circuit.
Aside from Eala, the PHL national team will also be reinforced by two of the best male players in the country, Francis Casey Alcantara and Ruben Gonzales.
