By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Negrense tennis star Alex Eala slipped one spot to No. 29 in the latest Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings as she gears up for her North American hard-court campaign.

Eala retained her total of 1,666 ranking points but dropped one place after Czech veteran Barbora Krejcikova surged from No. 32 to No. 26 following her title run at the Athens Open in Greece.

Krejcikova, who defeated Eala in the Filipina’s Wimbledon debut last year, captured the Athens crown with a 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over home favorite Maria Sakkari in the finals.

The championship earned her 250 ranking points, boosting her total to 1,680.

Krejcikova’s rise also pushed Emma Navarro down from No. 26 to No. 27 with 1,674 points, while Anastasia Potapova slipped from No. 27 to No. 28 with 1,667 points.

Eala followed at No. 29 despite maintaining her points total.

The 21-year-old Filipina reached a career-high ranking of No. 28 on July 13 after her historic run at Wimbledon, where she became the first Filipina to reach the fourth round of the prestigious Grand Slam tournament.

Eala will now shift her focus to the North American hard-court swing, opening her campaign at the Mubadala DC Open scheduled in Washington, DC from July 27 to August 2.

The tournament will serve as part of her buildup for the US Open series as she looks to improve on her career-best ranking./ASC, WDJ