Eala now at world No. 70

Alex Eala hit another career-high as she reached No. 70 in the latest Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings.

Eala, who jumped two notches higher, became the youngest Asian tennis player in the WTA ladder at 19 years old. She is also the second youngest tennis player in the Top 70 after world No. 7 Mirra Andreeva of Russia at 18 years old.

The rise in Eala’s ranking was sparked by strong performance in the Madrid Open last month, where she defeated Viktoriya Tomova of Bulgaria, 6-3, 6-2, in the Round of 128 before losing to world No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, in the Round of 64.

Eala’s consistent rise in the WTA rankings is also expected to affect her seeding once she makes her Grand Slam main draw debut in the French Open from 25 May to 8 June.

But before her much-anticipated French Open debut, Eala will first compete in the Italian Open starting Tuesday at the Foro Italico in Rome.

With the Italian Open being a WTA 1000 event like the Miami Open and the Madrid Open, Eala is expected to go hard against the likes of Swiatek, world No. 5 Madison Keys and world No. 4 Jessica Pegula of the United States, and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.