Eala rises to new career-high rank No. 17 entering Hong Kong Open

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine tennis pride Alex Eala rose to a new career-high rank of No. 17 entering the WTA 250 Hong Kong Open. In the latest official rankings on Monday, Eala climbed from No. 19 to 17 with 2,289 total points. Eala topped her previous career-best rank of No. 18 following a quarterfinal finish at the 500 Tokyo Open. Eala begins her Hong Kong campaign against world No. 59 Alycia Parks on Tuesday. Eala achieved the No. 18 rank on August 24 following her third-round finish at the Cincinnati Open. Suffering upset losses coupled with other players climbing the ladder this Asian Swing, Eala eventually dropped to No. 20 on October 19. Eala fell to world No. 180 Tatiana Prozorova (now No. 124) at the 500 Singapore Open second round on September 24, and to No. 217 Shi Han (now 148) at the 1000 Wuhan Open on October 12. The lefty netter regained her usual form at the just-concluded Tokyo Open, where she made a breakthrough quarterfinal appearance in the Asian Swing.