Emma Raducanu facing rankings peril as opportunity knocks for Victoria Mboko and Alex Eala
Victoria Mboko, Emma Raducanu and Alexandra Eala only had fleeting moments of success in 2025, but they are big contenders to make a huge impact on the WTA Tour next year.
Mboko enjoyed the best moment of the trio as she won the WTA 1000 event in front of her home fans at the Canadian Open in August.
British No 1 Raducanu has some big highs with strong runs at the new WTA Tour events at the Queen’s Club and in tight battles against world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka, while Eala made good progress up the WTA Rankings and reached her first tour final at Eastbourne.
Here is your Tennis365 guide to what the trio can target in 2026, with our ranking prediction for each.
Victoria Mboko
Current ranking: 18
Ranking target for 2026: Top 10
Mboko has a glorious chance to leap into the top 10 of the WTA Rankings in the first half of the new year, as she will be playing in much higher-profile events than she was at the same phase of last year.
She was finished last year ranked at No 333 and that meant she was not close to qualifying for any Grand Slam events. Instead, she was playing ITF World Tennis Tour events in the opening months of 2025 and while she won five of those tournaments between January and March, she was only picking up modest hauls of ranking points.
She will now be seeded at the Australian Open and probably at the French Open and Wimbledon, which will give Mboko a chance to boost her ranking before the 1,000 points from her memorable Canadian Open win drop off her record.
She will need time to adapt to her new status as a star of the game, but opportunity is knocking for Mboko in the first half of the new season.
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Emma Raducanu
Current ranking: 29
Ranking target for 2026: Top 16
The 2021 US Open champion had a year of highs and lows, but there were plenty of positives to take from a season that confirmed she can compete with the best when she is fit and firing.
Raducanu is a big event player and doesn’t appear to have too much motivation to play in lower-ranked events, so she needs to start 2026 with a bang to ensure the forward momentum she has in the WTA Rankings remains on course.
She reached the third round at the Australian Open last year and needs to match that to ensure her ranking does not slide, but Raducanu then has a big chance to make ground in the rankings as she had a run of defeats prior to her run to the quarter-finals at the Miami Open in March.
Staying fit and finding consistency will be key for Raducanu in 2026, but a place in the top 16 of the rankings a year from now is a realistic goal.
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Alexandra Eala
Current ranking: 53
Ranking target for 2026: Top 32
Eala’s breakthrough moment came as she made it through to the semi-finals of the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami, with her win against Iga Swiatek amid that run confirming her class.
Eala then reached her first WTA Tour final on grass in Eastbourne and she could have won that match against Maya Joint, so the Filipino star will be eager to make up for that near miss my winning a first professional tournament next season.
She finished this year on a high note by winning a gold medal at the Southeast Asian Games and that success could inspire her to make further leaps up the WTA Rankings next year.
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