Alex Eala Moves Up to World No. 17, Her Highest Ranking Yet
Alex Eala is the world No. 17 in women’s tennis. The WTA rankings released Monday, November 2, put her there. Her previous best was No. 18, set on August 24. She now holds 2,289 points.
Naomi Osaka is one spot above her at No. 16. Leylah Fernandez is one spot below at No. 18.
The move followed the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. Eala beat Mika Stojsavljevic and Talia Gibson in the first two rounds. She lost to Diana Shnaider in the quarterfinals, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 4-6.
A rough October first
Eala skipped the China Open to play for the Philippines at the Asian Games, where she won a bronze medal. She also exited the Singapore Open early. Her ranking slipped from its August peak.
On October 12 she lost to Shi Han, ranked No. 217, at the Wuhan Open. That was three weeks before the new ranking came out.
A record from 1997
Eala is the highest-ranked Filipino and Southeast Asian player in WTA Tour history. The old mark was No. 19, reached by Yayuk Basuki of Indonesia in 1997 and Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand in 2002. Eala passed it in August at No. 18 and now sits two spots above it.
She is 21. She started 2026 at No. 53 and has played 26 tournaments this year. She won her first WTA title at the Mubadala DC Open in Washington. At Wimbledon she reached the fourth round, beating Iga Swiatek along the way.
Hong Kong is next
Eala plays the WTA 250 Hong Kong Open, her last WTA event of the season. She opens Tuesday, November 3, against American Alycia Parks. The two have split their earlier meetings. Parks won at the Australian Open. Eala won at the Canadian Open.
Eala is the only Filipino on the tour.
