Alex Eala broke through the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Top 50 to end her season.
On Monday, Eala achieved a new career-high world ranking of No. 50, following a historic year.
She eclipsed her previous high at 51 despite a round-of-16 loss to Canadian Victoria Mboko, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, in the Hong Kong Open on Thursday.
The 20-year-old Eala was at No. 140 before her dream semifinal run at the Miami Open that catapulted her to the Top 75 and became an automatic participant in the Grand Slam main draws.
Eala delivered the Philippines’ first-ever US Open main draw win when she took down Clara Tauson in the first round and captured her first WTA title in the Guadalajara 125 open.
The Filipino tennis ace is currently taking a break in the Philippines, as she seeks to compete in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand in December.