Historic No. 18 Alex Eala WTA ranking sets regional milestone
Alexandra Eala has climbed to a career-high No. 18 in the latest Women’s Tennis Association rankings, securing 2,281 points following a strong North American hard-court swing. The 20-year-old Filipina athlete now stands as the highest-ranked female tennis player from Southeast Asia in history ahead of the US Open.
Eala advanced two positions from her previous standing at No. 20, capitalizing on a series of competitive tournament performances. Following a historic run to the fourth round at Wimbledon, Eala transitioned back to hard courts and captured the WTA 500 Mubadala DC Open title by defeating top-ranked opponents, including a victory over Jessica Pegula in the final. She maintained momentum with a Round of 16 appearance at the Canadian Open and a Round of 32 finish at the Cincinnati Open, both part of the WTA 1000 series.
This point accumulation eclipses the previous regional benchmark of No. 19, a record jointly held by Indonesia’s Yayuk Basuki since October 1997 and Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn since May 2002. Basuki retired in 2013, while Tanasugarn concluded her professional career in 2020 after securing four singles and eight doubles titles.
Eala now directs her attention toward the US Open, the final Grand Slam of the season. She enters the tournament with an expected seeding in the women’s singles draw and will also compete in mixed doubles alongside Canadian partner Felix Auger-Aliassime. The pair face an opening-round match against the husband-and-wife duo of Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina.
