Tennis-Eala ready to disappear for a bit after breakout season comes to an end

Alex Eala said she is looking ​forward to lying low for ​a while after her ‌breakout campaign ​ended on Sunday with a 6-3 6-0 defeat by American Claire Liu in the Hong Kong ‌Open final. The 21-year-old, who became the highest-ranked Filipino and Southeast Asian player in WTA history earlier this season, has become a fan favourite this year and ‌her run in Hong Kong will lift her to a career-high ‌15th in the world rankings.

Eala won her first WTA Tour-level title at the Washington Open in August and claimed seven wins over top-10 players across the year. She also won ⁠a ​bronze medal at ⁠the Asian Games last month. "I didn't know that was on the cards for me, to ⁠end the year at 15th," she told reporters after the Hong Kong final.

"This ​whole season, just to top it off with ending the year 15th, ⁠it's like dreams are only dreams until they're not." Asked what her goals were for 2027, ⁠Eala ​said she had not spent much time thinking about next season.

"I've been really enjoying the fruits of my labour of this year. ⁠Just because it's been one (tournament) and then the other and then the other... "I'm ⁠going to spend ⁠time with my family, just lay low, disappear for a little bit," she added.

"Yeah, those are my plans. Just ‌to ‌disappear."