By MARK REY MONTEJO
After barging into the quarterfinals of both singles and doubles events of the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open, Alex Eala achieved another first after reaching a career-high No. 38 in the latest Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) live rankings.
The 20-year-old Eala improved seven notches with 1,244 points to secure her highest ranking in the elite women’s list and could possibly go higher if she continues to progress in the ongoing Abu Dhabi Open in the UAE.
Just a few days ago, Eala broke into the Top 50 as she jumped to No. 45 despite her quarters exit in the inaugural WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open after bowing to eventual champion Colombian Camila Osorio.
But Eala, one of Asia’s finest netters, still has business to attend to on Arab soil, facing a hectic scheduled as she was set to play in doubles quarterfinals later Thursday, Feb. 5.
Her new ranking came after Eala carved out a come-from-behind 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7) victory over fellow unseeded in Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich in Round of 16 last Wednesday, setting up a quarters clash against No. 2 seed Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova.
In the doubles, Eala will joins forces with Indonesian pal Janice Tjen as they tangle with Spain’s Cristina Bucsa and China’s Shuai Zhang.
The Southeast Asian bets previously brought battle-tested Leylah Fernandez and Kristina Mladenovic down to their knees, 7-5, 3-6, 10-6.
After the Abu Dhabi event, Eala will continue her “Middle East swing” as she takes part in the Qatar Open and Dubai Tennis Championships later this month.
This would be another opportunity for Eala to go up against some of the world’s best as the two tournaments are WTA 1000-level.
