By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala set a new mark in a flourishing career after jumping three notches from No. 172 to No. 169 in the latest rankings in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) that was released this week.
The slight improvement came despite Eala’s quick exit at the W75 Bellinzona International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament in Switzerland last week.
In that event, the 18-year-old Eala lost in straight sets to Frenchwoman Selena Janicijevic in the first round.
But Eala matched her career-high in doubles ranking of No. 245 after she and French partner Estelle Cascino ruled the W75 Croissy-Beaubourg tournament late last month.
The country’s top tennis singles player is playing at presstime against Romanian Gabriela Lee in the first round of the Oeiras Ladies Open, a WTA125 event in Portugal.
She and Australian Taylah Preston are also seeing action in the doubles and they are set to clash with Spaniard Nuria Parrizas-Diaz and Frenchwoman Leolia Jeanjean.
