FILIPINA tennis standout Alex Eala is steadily climbing back up the WTA rankings after moving up four spots from her previous position.Eala now sits at No. 38 in the latest WTA list, an improvement from her former No. 42 ranking.Her rise was fueled by a strong showing at the Italian Open, where she reached the third round and earned 55 additional points for a total of 1,340.Grand Slam champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus continues to hold firm at the top of the WTA rankings, amassing an impressive 9,960 points to stay ahead of the pack.Trailing her at No. 2 is reigning Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who has collected 8,705 points to remain within striking distance of the top spot.At third place is reigning Wimbledon champion Iga Świątek of Poland with 7,273 points, continuing to be a consistent force on the tour. Close behind at No. 4 is reigning French Open champion Coco Gauff of the United States with 6,749 points, further solidifying her status as one of the brightest stars in women’s tennis today.Also making up the elite Top 10 are fellow American standouts Jessica Pegula at No. 5 with 6,286 points and Amanda Anisimova at No. 6 with 5,958 points, both showcasing strong and consistent performances across major tournaments.Ukrainian veteran Elina Svitolina sits at No. 7 with 4,315 points, boosted by her recent title run at the Italian Open. Rising Russian teen Mirra Andreeva occupies the No. 8 spot with 4,181 points, continuing her rapid ascent in the rankings.Canadian youngster Victoria Mboko is ranked No. 9 with 3,395 points, while Czech Republic’s Karolína Muchová rounds out the Top 10 with 3,318 points.Meanwhile, Eala is expected to continue her ascent if she delivers another solid performance at the Internationaux de Strasbourg.Eala kicks off her campaign against Ukrainian qualifier Oleksandra Oliynykova in the opening round, scheduled Monday night.This will be the first meeting between Eala and Oliynykova.Oliynykova, world ranked No. 68, is coming off a stint at the Italian Open in Rome, where she reached the Round of 32 before bowing to Czech bet Linda Noskova, 1-6, 3-6.Should Eala get past Oliynykova, she will face the winner between Czech Republic players eighth seed Marie Bouzkova and Katerina Siniakova in the second round. TMT
