MORE than just putting the Philippines on the global tennis map, Alex Eala’s remarkable run at the WTA 1000 Miami Open should open a lot of doors for the teenager.
By getting as far as the semifinals of a premier WTA 1000 tournament, Eala earned the biggest payday of her career of $332,160 and secured enough ranking points to be in a position to compete in grand slams and more top-tier tournaments.
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Four victories against seeded players including three grand slam winners before losing to world No. 4 Jessica Pegula gave Eala 390 ranking points - enough to put her at No. 75 when the WTA world rankings are updated in a few days.
That means she will no longer need to go through those rigorous qualifying rounds just to get into the main draw of grand slams and top-tier tournaments - a process that got the 19-year old stuck in her career trajectory after an impressive juniors career.
Now Eala will not only be seeded into the grand slams and top-tier tournaments, she will also be well positioned in the draw, meaning she will be meeting fellow mid-tier seeds and not one of the top favorites in the early rounds.
Those opportunities were not lost on Eala moments after the three-set marathon against Pegula.
”Of course, I’m disappointed,’’ Eala said in the post-game interview. “But there’s so much positive around me and I don’t know how many times that has happened, so I’m just lucky to have been able to experience these two weeks."
As good as those opportunities are, however, it's still down to Eala to prove that she isn't a one-hit wonder or a flash in the pan like so many players who get hot and go on a surprising run only to disappear back into oblivion.
But first things first, Eala said she needs to recharge and get back to full fitness.
The deepest she has ever been into a WTA tournament left her totally drained, as well as with a hurting left thigh which was heavily taped during the semis against Pegula and a painful ankle which she rolled early in the second set.
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“I think I’m going to reset and build my body back up so that my next tournament I can go all out full and can give everything I have again. … It’s not easy because if it was, everybody would be doing it.”
If there's someone who believes Eala can ride this momentum, it's no less than the player who just ended her Miami dream run.
“She takes the ball early, uses the angles well and competes and sees the court,’’ Pegula said of the Filipina teenager. “Those things are going to take her far ... she played super aggressive and it was working.”
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