Eala reaches World No. 53

Alex Eala continues her rise in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings after reaching a new career-best No. 53.

Eala was able to climb from her previous-best No. 54 despite her early exit in the Japan Open last week.

The 25-year-old Rafael Nadal Academy graduate lost to Tereza Valentova of Czech Republic, 1-6, 2-6, in the Round of 32 of the Japan Open.

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus remains the top women’s player while Iga Swiatek of Poland and Coco Gauff of the United States stay glued in second and third places, respectively.

Filipino-Canadian Leylah Fernandez moved up to No. 22 after beating Valentova, 6-0, 5-7, 6-3, for the Japan Open trophy.

Now, Eala is in China for the Guangzhou Open, a WTA 250 tournament, where she competes in both the singles and doubles events.

Seeded fourth in the singles, Eala is waiting for her opponent who will come out of the qualifying rounds.

She will also join forces with Nadiia Kichenok of Ukraine on Tuesday as they face home bet Tang Qianhui and Emily Appleton of Great Britain in the Round of 16 at 10 a.m.(Manila time).

The last time Eala competed in a doubles tournament was back in June in the Wimbledon Championships where she and Eva Sys of Germany lost in the first round after a 4-6, 2-6 defeat to Ingrid Martins of Brazil and Quinn Gleason of the United States in the first round.

Kichenok, 33, will be bringing her experience with her as the Ukrainian boasts 24 International Tennis Federation trophies and 11 WTA doubles titles in her career.