Alex Eala rises to career-high No. 17 in WTA rankings

Just before plunging into her final WTA event of the year, Alex Eala hit another new milestone by climbing to a new career-high in the world rankings at No. 17.

The 21-year-old Filipina rose to her career-best placing on Monday, just a day before opening her campaign at the WTA250 Hong Kong Open against American star Alycia Parks in the Round of 32.

Eala climbed two places from No. 19 to No. 17, surpassing her previous career-high ranking of No. 18.

The development came following Eala's quarterfinal appearance at the Pan Pacific Open in Japan, where she defeated Mika Stojsavljevic and Talia Gibson in the first two rounds before falling to Diana Shnaider in the Top 8.

Before that, Eala was coming off a series of early exits in the Singapore Open, Wuhan Open, and Ningbo Open, all part of the Asian Swing.

Eala will look to cap her WTA season on a high note as she targets a second career victory over Parks. The two have split their previous meetings, with the American getting the better of the Filipina at the Australian Open before Eala exacted revenge at the Canadian Open.

Alex Eala's Season recap (singles)

Asian swing

• Pan Pacific Open — Quarterfinals
• Ningbo Open — Round of 16
• Wuhan Open — Round of 64
• Singapore Tennis Open — Round of 16

North American swing

• US Open — Round of 32
• Cincinnati Open — Round of 32
• Canadian Open — Round of 16
• DC Open — Champion

Grass-court swing

• Wimbledon (Grand Slam) — Round of 16
• Bad Homburg Open (WTA 500) — Round of 32
• Berlin Tennis Open (WTA 500) — Semifinals
• HSBC Championships (WTA 500) — Round of 16
• Birmingham Open (WTA 125) — Champion

Clay-court swing

• French Open (Grand Slam) — Round of 128
• Italian Open (WTA 1000) — Round of 32
• Madrid Open (WTA 1000) — Round of 64
• Stuttgart Open (WTA 500) — Round of 32
• Linz Open (WTA 500) — Round of 16

Sunshine Swing

• Miami Open (WTA 1000) — Round of 16
• Indian Wells Open (WTA 1000) — Round of 16

Middle East Swing

• Dubai Tennis Championships (WTA 1000) — Quarterfinals
• Qatar Open (WTA 1000) — Round of 64
• Abu Dhabi Open (WTA 500) — Quarterfinals

Philippine Women’s Open (WTA 125) — Quarterfinals

Australian Swing

• Australian Open (Grand Slam) — Round of 128
• ASB Classic (WTA 250) — Semifinals

—JMB, GMA News