Alex Eala rises to new career-high No. 18 ahead of US Open

Alexandra "Alex" Eala soared to a new career-high ranking after rising to No. 18 in the latest WTA rankings on Monday. The Filipina tennis sensation, now sporting 2,281 points, jumped two spots higher ahead of the US Open, where she is expected to earn a seeding in the women’s singles.

Eala’s new rankings came after a stellar North American swing campaign so far.

After a historic Round of 16 feat in Wimbledon, Eala returned to the hard courts and ruled the WTA500 Mubadala DC Open by beating several top-ranked players, including Jessica Pegula in the finals.

She then reached the Round of 16 of Canadian Open and Round of 32 of the Cincinnati Open, both of which are WTA1000 tournaments.

Eala will now proceed to US Open, the final Grand Slam of the year.

Alex Eala's Season recap (singles)

North American swing

• 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