A day after climbing to a career-high world No. 17 ranking, Alex Eala holds off replacement foe Emerson Jones of Australia to kick off her Hong Kong Open campaign

MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala kicked off her Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open campaign on a high. 

Apart from entering the tournament at a career-high world No. 17 in the latest WTA rankings, the Filipina tennis star also cruised past Australia’s Emerson Jones, 6-4, 6-3, on Tuesday, November 3. 

Eala rose to world No. 17 just a few months after her previous career-high ranking of No. 18 in August. 

The 21-year-old Filipina, the second seed in the WTA 250 tournament, was originally supposed to go head to head with Alycia Parks. The American player, however, was forced to withdraw from the competition at the last minute due to a shoulder injury.

“It was a really good match. Emerson is such a sweetheart off the court and such a great player on the court, so I’m looking forward to many more matches together,” Eala said of world No. 132 Jones. 

She will face Czechia’s Tereza Valentová on Thursday, November 5, in the round of 16. 

The Hong Kong Open is Eala’s last tournament for the year. 

Eala will then mark her homecoming with “Alex Eala Live: Game. Set. Celebrate” on December 8 at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan, where she is set to face Indonesia’s Janice Tjen. – Rappler.com