Alex Eala is now officially into the top-75 in the WTA rankings after her semifinals run in the Miami Open, where she beat three Grand Slam champions.
Philippine tennis sensation Alex Eala leaped 65 places in a week in the WTA rankings, officially improving to world no. 75 in the latest edition of the world rankings released on Monday, March 31.
Just days after finishing the Miami Open as a semifinalist, Eala moved from world no. 140 to no. 75, breaking into the top-75 in the world as she beat two top-5 players in no. 5 Madison Keys and no. 2 Iga Swiatek en route to the semis.
Eala previously had a career-high ranking of just world no. 134, which she achieved in late January after an optimistic start to the year.
[READ: Alex Eala ends Cinderella run at Miami Open against world no. 4 Jessica Pegula in semis]
But because of her sensational run in Miami, where she qualified as a wild card entrant, Eala gained 390 points to push her young tennis career forward.
The 19-year-old captured the hearts of tennis fans in Miami and across the globe as she made her Cinderella run in the WTA 1000 tournament.
Her dream run consisted of her first-ever win in the main draw of the Miami Open when she beat USA player Katie Volynets in the Round of 128. Volynets was ranked world no. 73 at the time of the match.
She then followed it up with a stunner over world no. 25 Jelena Ostapenko in the Round of 64.
Then in the third run, Eala’s run went from unlikely to downright awe-inspiring as she swept reigning Australian Open champion Keys, 6-4, 6-2.
Eala then won via walkover after world no. 11 Paula Badosa had to withdraw due to injury.
In the quarterfinals, Eala nabbed her biggest win of her run with a 6-2, 7-5 masterclass of world no. 2 and five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek.
Despite losing in the semifinal, Eala showed her mettle as she dragged world no. 4 Jessica Pegula to a grueling three-setter, 6(3)-7, 7-5, 3-6.
[RELATED: World no. 4 Jessica Pegula sings praises for 'really good' Miami Open semis foe Alex Eala]
Apart from reaching new heights in the standings, Eala also nabbed a lofty pay day with prize money of USD 332,160 which totals to more than Php 19 million just for that week alone.
Moving forward, Eala is expected to gain invites into the main draw of other WTA 1000 tournaments as well as the three remaining Grand Slams this year.