By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala continued to rise in Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) singles rankings as she jumped from No. 162 to a career-high No. 155 this week.
This came after 19-year-old Eala put on an impressive performance at the Wimbledon Championships that saw her moved one win short of barging into the main draw round.
She previously ranked as high as No. 157 last May.
At the Wimbledon, Eala edged Frenchwoman Jessika Ponchet in the first qualifying round, 7-6 (1), 6-4, and Slovenian Tamara Zidansek next, 1-6, 7-6 (9), 6-3, before yielding to eventual quarterfinalist Lulu Sun of New Zealand, 7-6 (3), 7-5.
Eala returns into action this week in the W100 Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain, where she is seeded fifth in the $100,000 International Tennis Federation (ITF) event.
She is scheduled to clash with Dutch qualifier Lian Tran in the opening round, while also teaming up with Estelle Cascino of France in the women’s doubles.
The duo is set to meet Spaniards Carolina and Jimena Gomez.
