IN an encouraging development despite her early exit in her recent meet and before she resumes her hardcourt season next week, Alex Eala rose four rungs to No. 65 in the latest Women’s Tennis Association world ratings released yesterday.
Playing with an aching left shoulder, Eala faltered against former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the women’s singles opening round of the just-concluded National Bank Open presented by Rogers in Montreal, Canada.
The pretty Pinay southpaw had the shoulder of her hitting arm taped and then had it redone again during a medical timeout before the start of the third and final set in front of a center court audience at the 11,000-seat IGA Stadium.
“There was nothing wrong with the shoulder when she left after her vacation in Manila more than a week ago,” noted Philippine Tennis Association executive director Tonette Mendoza, who was a guest at the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum yesterday.
“Hopefully, she recovers fast because her real goal is competing in the main draw of the US Open,” added Mendoza of the tennis star, who will make history anew as the first Filipina netter to make her debut in the fourth and final Grand Slam in Flushing Meadows, New York, next month.
Among the biggest gainers in the ratings was Filipino-Canadian Leyla Fernandez, who won the just-concluded Mubadala City DC Open, beating Russian Anna Kalinskaya 6-1, 6-2 in the title match to move up 12 notches to No. 24.
Belarussian Ana Sabalynka, newly-crowned French Open champion Coco Gauff of the US, and new Wimbledon queen Iga Swiatek of Poland kept their Nos. 1-2-3 positions in the rankings, respectively.
The abrupt elimination of Eala from the Montreal competition might just turn out to be a blessing in disguise, giving her time to recover from her shoulder injury before she competes in the Cincinnati Open, another WTA 1000 tourney, starting Aug. 7 at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.
With the withdrawal of defending champion Sabalenka from the Cincinnati Open, Gauff now looms as the top favorite in the competition, with Fernandez and world No. 5 Mira Andreeva also in the main draw.
