MANILA — Alexandra Eala continued her historic ascent in world tennis, surging to a career-high No. 18 in the latest World Tennis Association (WTA) rankings following her third-round run at the Cincinnati Open.
The 21-year-old Filipina climbed two spots with 2,166 ranking points in the rankings released Monday, strengthening her position among the world’s elite and moving closer to a breakthrough into the WTA top 10.
Eala’s rise was also helped by ranking-point losses suffered by players ahead of her, particularly Jasmine Paolini and Ekaterina Alexandrova, following the removal of points they earned from tournaments during the same period last year.
Paolini dropped to No. 20 with 2,124 points after losing 649 points from her previous total, while Alexandrova slid from No. 18 to No. 19 after 375 points were deducted.
Eala, however, is well-positioned to climb even higher in the remaining months of the season as she has relatively few ranking points to defend.
At the US Open, the Filipina will defend only 70 points from her second-round appearance last year. She also has 125 points to defend from her title-winning campaign at the Guadalajara WTA 125 in September 2025.
Her Cincinnati Open campaign could likewise prove crucial to her ranking push as the tournament became her sixth WTA 1000 event eligible for inclusion in her ranking tally.
Eala previously had only five WTA 1000 tournaments counting toward her ranking, giving her an opportunity to add more points from Cincinnati to her overall total.
The Victorias City, Negros Occidental native will next turn her attention to the US Open, where she is set to compete in the women’s singles and mixed doubles events./PN
