Alex Eala caps another outstanding year with a Hong Kong final and a rise to World No. 15
RNA Editorial.
The player trained at the Rafa Nadal Academy closes a season highlighted by titles in Washington and Birmingham, a fourth-round appearance at Wimbledon and a climb to a career-high No. 15 in the WTA rankings.
Alex Eala has rounded off another impressive season at the highest level by reaching the final of the WTA 250 tournament in Hong Kong and climbing to No. 15 in the WTA rankings, the highest position of her career.
At 21, the Rafa Nadal Academy player continues to make steady progress in world tennis. After defeating Maria Sakkari 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 in the semifinals, the Filipina finished runner-up to American Claire Liu, who won the final 6-3, 6-0. Her run in Hong Kong took her to her second WTA final of the season.
The highlight of her year came in Washington, where she claimed her first WTA Tour title. Eala came from a set down to defeat Jessica Pegula 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-1 in the final, becoming the first Filipina to win a WTA Tour singles title. That WTA 500 triumph also propelled her into the world’s Top 20 for the first time.
The grass-court season brought further notable results. Alex lifted the WTA 125 trophy in Birmingham, reached the semifinals in Berlin and advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon. At the US Open, she reached the third round, completing her strongest Grand Slam performances of the year.
At the Tour’s biggest events, she also showed her competitiveness with a quarterfinal run in Dubai and fourth-round appearances in Indian Wells, Miami and Toronto. These results were complemented by semifinals in Auckland, quarterfinals in Abu Dhabi and Tokyo, and a bronze medal at the Asian Games.
A record that strengthens her confidence and her drive to keep growing: “I’m looking forward to continuing this journey with my team. I’m very grateful to them: everything we do, we do together,” said the 21-year-old after the Hong Kong final.
Since arriving in Manacor in 2018, Eala has grown both as a tennis player and as a person at the Rafa Nadal Academy, where she balanced training with her studies. Eight years on, that path of hard work and learning continues to bear fruit, having brought her to compete among the best in the world.
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