Eala heads to China, competes in Jingshan Open

Sports

JUST a rung shy of her career-high ranking, Filipina tennis star Alex Eala is traveling to China to compete in the Jingshan Tennis Open.

The WTA 125 hardcourt tournament is set for September 22-28 where Eala is the No. 1 seed.

The 20-year-old Eala will come into the tournament sitting at No. 57 in the WTA ranking, just a step away from her career-best No. 56.

As of Thursday, September 18, Eala is trailing Greek Maria Sakkari for the 56th spot. Sakkari has 1,091 points while Eala has 1,083. Occupying the 54th and 55th spots are Katie Boutler and Rebecca Sramkova with 1,108 and 1,097, respectively.

Eala had a productive outing in her last two tournaments. She made history when she won her first-ever WTA title at the Guadalajara 125 in Mexico.

From Mexico, Eala competed in the Sao Paulo Open in Brazil where she narrowly missed another crown. The rising star made a deep run in the Sao Paulo Open but lost to lower-ranked Janice Tjen of Indonesia in the quarterfinal round.

The loss to Tjen snapped Eala’s seven-match winning streak but the streak of victories highlighted by the title run in Brazil boosted the Filipina’s ranking.(CCM)