Alex Eala’s recent stints in China did not go down the drain as she reached a career-high No. 54 in the latest Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings.
The 20-year-old Eala moved four spaces up as she gets closer to entering the Top 50 of the WTA.
Her previous-best rank was at No. 56 last June after making it to the final of the Eastbourne Open last June in London where she lost to world No. 36 Maya Joint of Australia, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6.
Wuhan Open defending champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus remains at No. 1 in the WTA rankings while Iga Swiatek of Poland and Coco Gauff of the United States stay at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.
Filipino-Canadian netter Leylah Fernandez dropped from No. 25 to No. 27 in the rankings after losing to Gauff, 4-6, 6-4, 5-7, in the quarterfinal of China Open in Beijing last September.
Eala is currently taking a short break after joining three competitions in a row.
The Rafael Nadal Academy graduate first competed at the Jingshan Tennis Open last September where she made it all the way to the semifinal before bowing to Lulu Sun of New Zealand, 6-3, 4-6, 2-6.
At the Suzhou Open, Eala got into the quarterfinal but fell to Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland, 6-2, 2-6, 6-7.
Eala suffered an early exit in the Wuhan Open after losing to world No. 91 Moyuka Uchijima of Japan, 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, in the first qualifying round over the weekend.
After her short break, Eala will be joining the Japan Open on 13 October in Osaka.
She will fly back to China for the Guangzhou Open from 20 to 26 October and the Hong Kong Open from 27 October to 2 November.
Eala could also fly to Thailand and compete for the national team in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games from 9 to 20 December.