Eala up for ‘Star of the Swing’ honor

MANILA, Philippines —  Tennis darling Alex Eala is on track to earn another recognition before hitting the court for the WTA’s Asian Swing opener in Singapore.

On the strength of her breakthrough triumph at the DC Open in Washington, Eala made the shortlist for the WTA’s “Star of the Swing” – an accolade that recognizes the standout performer of the recent North American hard-court swing through online voting.

Fans get to decide the winner and no surprises, the hugely popular 18th-ranked Filipina stormed ahead of seven other candidates with a whopping 78 percent of over 5,000 votes as of yesterday.

Newly-minted US Open champion and world No.1. Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan ranked a far second at 16 percent followed by Canada Open winner Iga Swiatek of Poland (WTA No. 9) at three percent.

Other candidates include US Open runner-up Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus (No. 2), Cincinnati winner Coco Gauff of USA (No.4), Monterey winner Diane Parry of France (No. 30) and Guadalajara winner Iva Jovic of USA (No. 13).

Eala made a strong case for herself in the “Star of the Swing” derby with her brilliant showing in the hard courts of North America highlighted by her clinching 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 comeback victory over home bet Jessica Pegula in Washington and a third-round run at the US Open.

The 21-year-old lefty previously bagged the “Star of the Swing” for the grass-court season in Europe last July following her WTA125 title in Birmingham and Round of 16 finish in Wimbledon.

She aims to carry her momentum into the WTA500 Singapore Open, where she’s seeded third and faces  No. 180 Tatiana Prozorova today in Round 2 at the OCBC Arena.