Alex Eala achieves a career-high WTA ranking of No. 56 after her Eastbourne Open finals run

Filipino tennis sensation Alex Eala has emerged as arguably the best young player to come out of Southeast Asia in recent years, with the 20-year-old establishing herself as a rising star to watch.

Eala showcased her talent with a historic run in the recently concluded Lexus Eastbourne Open, where she made history by becoming the first player from the Philippines to reach a World Tennis Association (WTA) tournament final. However, she fell at the final hurdle, losing to Australia’s Maya Joint 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 on Sunday, June 29 (Philippine Standard Time).

The young tennis star continues to make history, achieving a new milestone in her career by climbing to No. 56 in the latest WTA rankings—an 18-spot jump from her previous ranking of No. 74. This is eight places higher than her prior career-high of No. 69, which she reached in May.

Keep your head held high, Alex ❤️

Eala celebrates a historic run for the Philippines with her first tour-level final. 🇵🇭👏#LexusEastbourneOpen pic.twitter.com/KQuI3zp4pj

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 28, 2025

The Filipina took to Instagram to thank fans for their love and support while reiterating her focus on the upcoming 2025 Wimbledon Championships.

“A WTA trophy! Thank you everyone for the love. This has to be one of the toughest losses of my early career, but I firmly believe that it’s these moments that make you stronger and shape your character. Though I’m so happy with the positive week, it’s full speed ahead to Wimbledon. I have a date with center court. Hopefully, I forget about this one soon,” Eala wrote in her post.

The young star has no time to rest, as she needs to put this loss behind her and prepare to face arguably the biggest opponent of her career—defending Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova—in the first round on Tuesday, June 1.

This match will mark Eala’s Wimbledon debut and only her second main-draw appearance in a Grand Slam, after falling short of qualifying for last year’s Wimbledon when she lost to New Zealand’s Lulu Sun in the third round of the qualifiers.

It will be intriguing to see how Eala performs at Wimbledon, especially with the eyes of the tennis world on her.

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