Alex Eala is expected to improve her world junior rankings for her semifinal finish at the French Open girls singles.
The 15-year-old Eala is currently ranked No. 4 in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) juniors and could move a few rungs higher following No. 1 Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva of Andorra’s stunning second-round exit to eventual unseeded finalist Alinea Charaeva of Russia.
Eala, seeded second in the tournament, yielded to third seed Elsa Jacquemot of France on Friday night, 6-3, 6-2, for a spot in the final.
The PH bet also lost her first-round doubles with American partner Elvina Kalieva against Italian pair Eleonora Alvisi and Lisa Pigato, 7-5, 2-6, 10-7.
Despite the defeat, Eala made history by becoming the first Filipina to make it to the Grand Slam singles semis, matching Felix Barrientos’ feat in the 1985 Wimbledon Juniors.
In an Instagram post, Eala thanked her supporters for cheering her on.
“Many lessons learned this week. Glad to say that I reached the semifinals of this year’s Roland Garros juniors,” she wrote.
“Thank you to everyone who messaged me and took the time to follow me throughout the tournament. The amount of support I’ve received this week is tremendous and I cannot thank you all enough.”
Eala also said she will do her best in future endeavors.
“Going to work harder to come back even stronger,” she wrote.