DUE to persistent rain, Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala’s suspended final match against world No. 3 Jessica Pegula at the WTA 500 Mubadala DC Open will be resumed on Monday at 12 noon in Washington, Tuesday midnight, Aug. 4 in Manila.

Eala was trailing Pegula, 0-1, after the first set (4-6), but held a 2-1 game lead in the second frame at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center Stadium Court.

Initially scheduled Monday midnight, Aug. 3 in Manila, the start of the match was delayed for three hours due to rain.

When Eala took a 2-1 game lead in the second set, rains came back and play was halted anew.

Efforts were made to dry the courts but rains pour repeatedly, prompting the organizers to resume play the next day at 12 noon which is Tuesday midnight in Manila.

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Meanwhile, Eala achieved a season-best No. 17 in the WTA Singles Finals Race, where the top eight advance to the Finals in Indian Wells in November.

Ranked No. 25 last week, Eala climbed 8 spots to No. 17 in the live race with 1,712 points after making the 500 Mubadala DC Open final courtesy of her semifinal win over 4-time major champ Naomi Osaka on Sunday.

The official WTA Finals singles race leaderboard has not yet reflected Eala’s rise as of writing.

Eala once touched No. 15 in the singles race albeit in the live, day-to-day tracking after defeating Julia Grabher in the round of 32, 6-4, 6-3, at the Linz Open on April 8.

In the official update on April 13, Eala fell to No. 19 in the leaderboard which served as her highest place in the race.

If Eala beats Pegula in the Washington final, she will raise her season’s total to 1,878 points which will put her in another season-best at No. 14.

While Eala is still far from the No. 8 spot in the singles finals race, being in top 20 is still crucial to make the Finals cast.

If Eala pulls off a massive run and wins the final major of the year, the US Open, she could become the highest-ranked Grand Slam champ outside the top 8 but within the top 20 which will earn her the eighth and last Finals spot.

Only the top seven in the season-end rankings are guaranteed to make the WTA Finals, as the eighth and final slot is reserved for the highest-ranked Grand Slam champ inside the top 20.

If all Grand Slam champs are already in the top seven, the eighth-best player then completes the Finals cast.

Meanwhile, Eala achieved a career-high rank of No. 24 in the live rankings with a total of 1,931 points.

If she beats Pegula in the final, she will reach a new best of No. 20 in the rankings with 2,106 points.

The live and official rankings count the points earned by players in the last 52 weeks (1 year), while the singles race rankings only counts the players’ points for the current season.