Eala living the dream with career-best ranking

Alex Eala could hardly believe she would finish the season as world No. 15, describing her career-best Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) ranking as a dream she never expected to achieve so soon.

The 21-year-old Filipina said reaching the top 15 of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) was beyond her expectations, capping a breakthrough campaign that saw her establish herself among the world’s leading players.

Eala finished her WTA Tour season with a runner-up finish in the Hong Kong Tennis Open over the weekend.

“Oh, it’s insane. It’s insane. I did not know that was in the cards for me. To end the year at 15, it’s crazy,” Eala said.

“It’s like this whole season, and just to top it off with ending the year at 15, it’s like dreams are only dreams until they’re not, right? So that’s how I feel.”

Despite having played tennis since she was four, Eala believes her career is only beginning and that there is still plenty of room to grow.

“I mean, I’m 21, so it’s the beginning of my career. I’ve been playing ever since I was four.,” Eala said.

“But even then, I still feel like there’s a long, long road ahead of me, which I am so excited for, excited to continue the journey with my team.”

Eala also credited her team for helping her reach the milestone, stressing that the progress she has made has been a collective effort.

“I’m very, very grateful for them and everything we do, we do together,” Eala said.

“I’m just going to take this time to really process it, because it’s been a lot.”

Eala’s rise did not just come out of nowhere as she made it to the Last 16 of the Wimbledon Championships last May and won the Washington Open title last August.

She also defeated high-caliber players such as world No. 1 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and world No. 4 Coco Gauff of the United States this year.

Now Eala will take a break before she competes in an exhibition match against world No. 60 Janice Tjen of Indonesia on 8 December at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.

Eala will start her campaign next year at the Auckland Open in New Zealand from 4 to 10 January.