By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Negrense tennis star Alexandra Eala received a major boost in both ranking and confidence after capturing her first title of the 2026 season at the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Lexus Birmingham Classic WTA 125 tournament in England.

The 21-year-old secured 125 WTA ranking points with her championship run, helping her rise to World’s No. 33 in the latest WTA rankings released on Monday, June 8.

Eala, who previously had a career-high ranking of No. 29, also pocketed $33,650 (more than P2 million) in prize money following her triumph.

The victory was another milestone for Philippine tennis as Eala became the first Filipino player to win the Birmingham title, joining a list of past champions that includes some of the sport’s biggest names.

Eala rallied from a set down to defeat Czech Republic’s Nikola Bartunkova, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, in the championship match, her first victory over a Czech opponent after suffering 13 consecutive defeats against players from the European nation since 2020.

Fresh from her title run, Eala is set to continue her grass-court campaign at the HSBC Championships, where she will face Chinese qualifier Shuai Zhang in the opening round.

Eala is also aiming to collect more ranking points in the coming weeks as she seeks a seeded position for Wimbledon.

To secure a spot among the tournament’s Top 32 seeds, she must continue climbing the rankings before the cutoff date on June 22./ASC, WDJ