By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Alexandra “Alex” Eala continued her strong rise on the World Tennis Association (WTA) Tour after climbing to a career-high World’s No. 49 in the latest rankings released online.

The Negrense tennis star achieved the milestone following a semifinal run at the ASB Classic, a WTA 250 tournament held in Auckland, New Zealand last week.

Eala entered the tournament ranked No. 53 and advanced to the Final 4 after winning three singles matches before bowing to China’s Xinyu Wang in a three-set semifinal.

The new ranking surpassed Eala’s previous career-best of No. 50, which she reached toward the end of the 2025 season.

Her performance in Auckland marked the third time she has reached the semifinals of a WTA event, following similar runs at the Miami Open and Eastbourne Open last year.

Eala is scheduled to compete next at the Kooyong Classic from January 13 to 15 as part of her build-up to the Australian Open.

She is set to make her main draw debut at the Melbourne Grand Slam, which will complete her appearances in all four Grand Slam tournaments after previously playing at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open in 2025.

Depending on her schedule, Eala could also see action in the inaugural Philippine Women’s Open slated for late January.

She and Indonesia’s Janice Tjen have been granted wild card slots by the Philippine Tennis Association should they be available to compete in the historic home tournament./ASC, WDJ