Eala improves world ranking to No. 69

Alex Eala’s world ranking rose anew as she is now at No. 69 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) despite her early exit in the Italian Open in Rome last week.

The 19-year-old Rafael Nadal Academy (RNA) graduate suffered a 0-6, 1-6 loss to Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in the Round of 128 in the Italian capital.

Still, her ranking improved one notch higher from No. 70 to No. 69.

Eala also improved in the women’s doubles rankings at No. 224 after joining forces with Coco Gauff.

Eala and Gauff actually made it as far as the quarterfinal before losing to defending champions and home bets Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini, 5-7, 6-3 (7-10) last week.

Gauff, currently the second best player in the world, even apologized to Eala.

“Many times I’ve apologized to her, but she’s quick, she’s fast, so she’s there to cover for me,” Gauff said.

Now, Eala is back in the RNA in Mallorca, Spain to prepare for her main draw debut in the French Open on 25 May.

However, she could join either the Internationaux de Strasbourg in France from 18 to 24 May or the Morocco Open from 17 to 24 May in Rabat before going to Paris for the second Grand Slam of the year.