'ALEXANDRA THE GREAT'

Eala soars to No. 56 in WTA live rankings

- By MARK REY MONTEJ O

With her amazing run in the ongoing Lexus Eastbourne Open in Great Britain, Alexandra “Alex” Eala continues to make heads turn as she authored several firsts — again — the in her flourishing pro career.

First, she soared to world No. 56 in the current WTA live rankings -18 rungs higher from her previous rank of 74 with 1,041 points.

That was after Eala barged into the final of WTA 250 Eastbourne after beating a pesky French Varvara Gracheva, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, in a contest where momentum swung like a pendulum.

But in the end, it was Eala's resolve and brutal double-fisted shots that made the difference.

They were like gladiators of ancient Rome, fighting for blood, honor and glory. And Eala proved to be fiercest and mightiest of the two warriors, thus becoming the full-blooded Filipino netter to advance in a WTA 250 event.

She will be up against fellow rising star Australian Maya Joint.

The duel of the two is being played at presstime.

Her spectacular showing on the grass court makes Eala one of the higher-ranked players from the Asian continent with China’s Qinwen Zheng (No. 6) and Xinyu Wang (No. 32). Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina is ranked No. 11 and Yulia Putintseva No. 33 and Japan's Naomi Osaka No. 53.