Alex Eala in the Guadalajara 125 Open and the road to her first WTA 125 title

Finally, Alex Eala is a WTA 125 titleholder.

After a second-round exit at the US Open just last week in New York, Eala flew to Mexico to compete in the Guadalajara 125 Open.

The Filipina tennis ace continued to make history as she captured her first WTA 125 title on Sunday, defeating Panna Udvardy, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, in the finals.

Here’s a recap of Eala’s journey in the Guadalajara 125 Open:

Round of 32: Alex Eala def. Arianne Hartono

Eala defeated Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands, 6-2, 6-2, to claim her first win since her opening-round victory against Cristina Bucsa at the US Open.

This also marked Eala’s fourth career win against Hartono.

Round of 16: Alex Eala def. Varvara Lepchenko

It took Eala nearly 24 hours to complete her match against American Varvara Lepchenko due to weather delays which suspended the match. Eventually, she prevailed, 6(3)-7(7), 7(7)-6(3), 6-3.

Quarterfinals: Alex Eala def. Nicole Fossa Huergo

Just minutes after her win over Lepchenko, Eala returned to the court to face Italy’s Nicole Fossa Huergo, winning 7(7)-6(2), 6-2.

Semifinals: Alex Eala def. Kayla Day

Eala needed only an hour and eight minutes to defeat American Kayla Day in the semifinals, 6-2, 6-3, advancing to her second WTA final.

Finals: Alex Eala def. Panna Udvardy

World No. 75 Eala was on the brink of defeat against World No. 134 Panna Udvardy of Hungary after dropping the first set, 1-6. However, the Filipino tennis ace fought back to win the second set, 7-5, and rode the momentum to a 6-3 victory in the final set, sealing her first WTA title.

The WTA 125 circuit, including the Guadalajara 125 Open, "offers both established WTA players and talented newcomers the ability to build their careers and progress up to the highest levels of the WTA Tour," according to the WTA website.

The higher levels of the WTA Tour are the WTA 250, WTA 500, and WTA 1000, with the numbers denoting the ranking points to be awarded to the winners of each tournament. Grand Slams, such as the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open, award 2000 ranking points.

—JKC, GMA integrated News