In a battle of two rising WTA Tour stars at the 2025 Hong Kong Tennis Open, Victoria Mboko fought back to overcome Alex Eala in three sets.
Mboko advanced to the quarter-finals of the WTA 250 tournament in Hong Kong after prevailing 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 against Eala in the second round.
Both Mboko and Eala are set to continue their climb up the WTA Rankings in next week’s update, with the pair currently projected to reach new career-high positions.
Victoria Mboko beats Alex Eala in Hong Kong
- Victoria Mboko made an impressive comeback to defeat Alex Eala in three sets in the second round of the Hong Kong Tennis Open
- As things stand, Mboko is set to break into the top 20 of the WTA Rankings for the first time having jumped one place from 21st – and she could yet rise further
- Eala is up from 51st to a projected new career-high ranking of 50th in the Live WTA Rankings
Eala looked to be closing in on a big win after breaking Mboko in the Canadian’s first two service games of the third set to take a 4-1 lead.
Mboko, though, won the next five games to seal a comeback victory in just under two and a half hours.
This was the first WTA Tour encounter between 19-year-old Mboko and 20-year-old Eala.
Mboko and Eala are set for WTA Rankings milestones
With her run to the quarter-finals in Hong Kong, Mboko has increased her points tally by 48 points to 1,961.
This has lifted Mboko from 21st to a projected new career-high ranking of 20th in the Live WTA Rankings, moving her above Diana Shnaider.
The only way Mboko could remain in 21st place is if she lost in the quarter-finals and her Canadian compatriot, Leylah Fernandez, won the title in Hong Kong.
If Mboko progresses to the semi-finals, she will jump above Elise Mertens and Karolina Muchova into 18th place — which is the highest ranking she could achieve.
Tennis News
WTA Finals: What ranking points have Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff & co dropped from 2024 tournament?
Eala, meanwhile, has boosted her points tally by 12 points to 1,143 for reaching the second round in Hong Kong, climbing above Anastasia Potapova. This would be a new best ranking for the Filipina.
The only players who could still overtake Eala are Alycia Parks and Cristina Bucsa, who are in action in Jiujiang and Hong Kong respectively.
What next for Mboko in Hong Kong?
Mboko will face world No 35 and sixth seed Anna Kalinskaya in the quarter-finals in Hong Kong.
Kalinskaya, a 26-year-old Russian, destroyed Zhang Shaui 6-1, 6-1 in the second round after seeing off Kamilla Rakhimova 6-4, 6-4 in the first round.
This will be a first meeting between Mboko and Kalinskaya.
READ NEXT: Who are Victoria Mboko’s parents and siblings? Canadian star’s family inspired her rise
The post How Victoria Mboko beating Alex Eala in Hong Kong affects the WTA Rankings appeared first on Tennis365.
Leave a Reply