Alexandra Eala becomes the first woman from the Philippines to break into the Top 50
She was already the first to reach the Top 100 in March.
Alexandra Eala has already made a lot of history this year, and now she's done it again, becoming the first player from the Philippines to break into the Top 50 in WTA rankings history.
The 20-year-old moves up from No. 51 to No. 50 today after reaching the second round in Hong Kong, a run that could have actually gone much further—she led Victoria Mboko 4-1 in the third set before falling to her good friend, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Mboko eventually went all the way to the title, and the Top 20.
"It's never easy to play one of your friends," Mboko said. "I've known her for such a long time, so that made it a little emotional.
"I had to fight for every point. It was just an unbelievable match."
But that run was enough to propel Eala into the Top 50.
Eala has had a season full of breakthroughs.
In Miami, she became the first woman from the Philippines ever to reach a WTA semifinal, and at a WTA 1000 event, no less—along the way she also became the first woman from her country to beat a Top 30 player, and she did it three times, and two of them were Top 5 players (Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek).
After that run, she became the first woman from the Philippines to break into the Top 100 in WTA rankings history, soaring to No. 75.
A few months later in Eastbourne, she became the first woman from the Philippines ever to reach a WTA final, barely missing out on making that a title—she fell to Australia's Maya Joint in a nail-biter, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (10), after holding four match points.
And at the US Open, she became the first woman from the Philippines to win a main draw match at a major in the Open Era, and she did it in style, too, taking out one of the hottest players of the season—Clara Tauson—in a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (11) thriller.
Her victory over the Dane was her fourth Top 20 win of the year.
And now, Eala has blazed her trail into the Top 50.