MANILA, Philippines — Filipino tennis sensation Alex Eala climbed from 47th to 38th at the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) live rankings after stunning world no. 8 Jasmine Paolini, 6-1, 7-6 (5), at the Dubai Tennis Championships second round (round of 32) in the United Arab Emirates early Wednesday in Manila.
Eala, who dropped from career-high 40th to 47th at the latest WTA official rankings last Monday, gained 120 ranking points for reaching the round of 16 (third round).
The live rankings showed 110 net gain only which likely means she had 10 points in the same tournament week or day last year.
Those 10 points have already dropped off and been replaced by 120, resulting in a net gain of 110 for a total of 1337 points for Eala.
Eala could pad her live ranking more if she defeats Romanian Sorana Cirstea in the round of 16 on Thursday.
A win would have Eala upgrading her 120 points to 215 on top of a quarterfinals berth.