Alex Eala’s string of strong performances didn’t go unnoticed as she made a huge stride, leapfrogging all the way to No. 61 in the latest ranking of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

The 20-year-old Filipina jumped 14 notches higher after clinching a historic title in the Guadalajara 125 Open at the Panamerican Tennis Center in Mexico over the weekend.

Eala brushed off a sluggish start to pull off a masterful 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 win over Panna Udvardy of Hungary to complete the memorable victory that formally made her the first Filipina to win a WTA title.

With victory came a handsome reward. Eala brought home a pot money of $15,500 — or roughly P878,000 — for winning the tournament that is considered as the lowest among all WTA events behind WTA 1000, WTA 500 and WTA 250.

On the contrary, Eala enjoyed her biggest payday of $154,000 — or around P8.7 million — when she beat world No. 14 Clara Tauson of Denmark in the opening round of the US Open, which is the biggest and richest among the four Grand Slam events.

Still, it was a mission accomplished for Eala as she grabbed the No. 61 in the world ranking that is just five notches away from the highest ranking she had of No. 56 back in June.

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, fresh from successfully defending her US Open crown after beating Amanda Anisimova of the United States over the weekend, remains on top as No. 1 followed by Iga Swiatek of Poland, Coco Gauff of the US, Anisimova and Mirra Andreeva of Russia.

Americans Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula are bunched at Nos. 6 and 7 while Italian Jasmine Paolini, Chinese Qinwen Zheng, and Kazakh Elena Rybakina round out the top 10.

Just a notch below Eala is her US Open tormentor Cristina Bucsa of Spain, who leapt 33 notches to No. 62 after reaching the Round of 16 in Flushing Meadows, where she bowed to Sabalenka.

Eala’s mentor, Rafael Nadal, is thrilled to learn that one of her top students in Eala is making a huge stride.

“Congrats Alex Eala for your first WTA title in Mexico,” said Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion whose tennis academy molded the Filipina into a world-class competitor.

“I am happy and proud of what you are achieving for yourself, the Rafael Nadal Academy and for the Philippines.”

But Eala is far from done. She will be setting her sights on yet another crucial event in the Sao Paolo Open that will be held at the Parque Villa-Lobos in Brazil.

Eala will be marching overflowing with confidence as she was seeded third in this WTA 250 event. She will be facing a lightweight in French qualifier Yasmine Mansouri, the world No. 380, in the Round of 32 on Tuesday (Manila time).

Mansouri barged into the main draw with quick victories over local bets Ana Cruz, 6-3, 6-2, and Thaisa Grana Pedretti, 6-2, 6-4.

So far, the 24-year-old French has five singles and 14 doubles titles in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) circuit. On the other hand, Eala boasts of five singles and three doubles titles in the ITF circuit and has a wider experience in the WTA scene where she faced — and won — against some of the world’s best players that include Grand Slam champions Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek.

Eala, however, is not expected to take the French minnow lightly as she is eager to book a Round of 16 battle with either Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia or Julia Riera of Argentina, who defeated her in the qualifying round of the French Open last year, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4.