Eala now world’s No. 2 junior netter

MANILA, Philippines — Following her twin title in Milan, Italy last week, Filipina sensation Alex Eala is now the No. 2 junior player in the world, according to the latest International Tennis Federation (ITF) rankings released yesterday.

Eala has amassed 2786.25 points to overtake France’s Elsa Jacquemot (2404.25) and match her career-high ranking (No. 2) that she reached last year before slipping back to third spot.

The 16-year-old ace only trails top-ranked Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva (2991.75) of Andorra by a manageable gap, gaining a pretty shot to bump her off with more events lined up this year.

Eala zoomed closer to the top of the world junior rankings after a double-championship in the JA Milan, ruling both the girls’ singles and doubles events.

Ranked as the No. 1 player in Milan, Eala rolled over her counterparts, capped by a 6-3, 6-3 win over Czech Republic’s Nikola Bartunkova in the singles finale.

She and American partner Madison Sieg were also the top seed in the doubles, finishing it off with a 6-4, 4-6, 13-11 finals victory over Croatia’s Lucija Ciric Bagaric and Belgium’s Sofia Costoulas.