Eala jumps to 43rd in WTA live rankings

January 24 ------ DESPITE a quick exit in her Australian Open main draw debut, Alexandra “Alex” Eala leaped to a career-best 43rd in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) live rankings. Officially, Eala is ranked a career high 49th in the world but when the WTA resets its rankings on Monday, the Filipino ace could set a new personal best. Her live ranking of No. 43 can still change as the Australian Open progresses.

Eala got off to a strong start on Monday but fell to American Alycia Parks, 6-0, 3-6, 2-6, in their opening round duel. The 20-year-old Eala earned 10 ranking points for her first-round appearance but had a -5 in net gain for an aggregate of 1154. The WTA rankings are based on a 52-week rolling system and points earned by players in the same tournament week a year ago get replaced by what they earned in the present week.

In a story published on the WTA website, Eala said she was touched by the huge Filipino crowd turnout in her match against Parks at Melbourne Park Court 6. Eala drew long queues of Filipino diaspora who wanted to see her play in the first Grand Slam of the year. “It was so heart-warming,” said Eala.​ “That’s one of the things that makes a loss like today a little bit harder is I know a lot of people were rooting for me. Then again Alycia played really well. And you know I just hope that the support continues with the losses along with the wins.” she added.

Source: manilatimes.net