Alex Eala returns home with new career-high ranking

MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala could not have picked a better time to return home.

Eala is back in the Philippines at the peak of her powers as she climbed to a career-high No. 28 in the latest WTA rankings released on Monday, July 13, following her superb run in the Wimbledon Championships.

The first Filipina to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon, the 21-year-old earned a net gain of 230 points for a total of 1,666 points to eclipse her previous career high of No. 29 in March.

After a shaky clay-court swing, Eala found her footing on grass as she beat three top-10 opponents on the surface this year.

Eala shocked world No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan then stunned then-world No. 8 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in succession to advance to the semifinals of the Berlin Tennis Open, where she lost to eventual Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic.

Then in one of the biggest matches of her young career, Eala dethroned 2025 Wimbledon titlist and then-world No. 3 Iga Swiatek of Poland to make the fourth round, becoming the first Filipino to reach the second week of a Grand Slam.

Eala concluded the grass-court swing with a 12-4 record as her Wimbledon run ended at the hands of current world No. 15 Jasmine Paolini of Italy.

Deserving of a well-earned break after taking part in 19 tournaments and compiling a 30-18 record so far this year, Eala arrived in the country to a warm reception on Sunday, July 12.

Eala is set to grace a series of events organized by her sponsors, including a fan meet at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati on Wednesday, July 15.

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