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John Bryan Ulanday - The Philippine Star
May 6, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — There is no stopping Alex Eala’s progress.
Eala rose to yet another career best world ranking of No. 70 ahead of her much-awaited main draw debut in the French Open later this month.
The 19-year-old Filipina pride slightly improved from a previous high of No. 72 in the Women’s Tennis Association ranking following a second-round stint in the Madrid Open last week.
Eala drubbed Bulgaria’s Victoriya Tomova, 6-3, 6-2, in Round 1 but bowed to a familiar foe in Poland’s Iga Swiatek, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, in the next round.
And that served as Swiatek’s revenge on the teen sensation, who beat her in the Miami Open last March, 6-2, 7-5, in the Round of 8 to make history as the first-ever Filipina WTA semifinalist.
Still, Eala gained enough with 897 points in 29 tourneys this season to climb the ranks and thus get automatic spot in the French Open set May 25 to June 8 in Paris.
Before that, Eala will have a chance to fine-tune her bearings in the Italian Open in Rome starting tomorrow.
Italian Open is a WTA 1000 tourney like the Miami Open, where Eala had Cinderella run marked by wins over three Grand Slam champions and Top-10 players including Swiatek.
