Philippine pride Alexandra Eala will reach a new high in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings this week, just in time for her Wimbledon debut on July 1 against its defending champion Barbora Krejčíková.
The 20-year-old Eala is now at no. 56 in the WTA live rankings after she battled fellow rising star Maya Joint to four championship points before the Australian eventually won, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (10), on Saturday in the Eastbourne Open women’s singles finals in Great Britain.
Eala’s ranking, who was at no. 74 last week, was aiming to become the first Filipino winner of a WTA Tour event.
“In the end, the week was really great. Even though the final hurts a lot, because it was so close, and I had my opportunities, things happen like this,” said an emotional Eala, as she reflected on her campaign over the past week.
During the game, the 19-year-old Joint engaged Eala in one of the longest matches in the WTA, after they were done in two hours and 26 minutes.
Joint went home with prize money totalling $51,330, to go with 250 points, while Eala pocketed $30,380 (around P1.719 million) for her effort, plus 163 points.
“She [Joint] played well when she needed to. Tennis is like that, you can’t have two winners, and I think both of us really fought to the end,” added Eala, who now gets ready for her next event, the Wimbledon Open.
Standing in her way right on the first day is 17th seed Krejcikova, who is aiming to defend the title she secured last year against Italy’s Jasmine Paolini.
The 29-year-old Czech’s path to the 2024 championship included victories over Grand Slam winners Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) and Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, before ultimately defeating Paolini in a hard-fought final, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.
A former world No. 2 in 2022, Krejcikova, boasts two Grand Slam singles’ titles, with her other major win coming at the 2021 French Open.
With her earnings, Eala also moved up to no. 56 in the WTA’s list of prize money leaders for the month, with total earnings of $561,212 this year, which is around P31.770 million.
