Alex Eala’s hopes of rankings salvation gets another boost at Miami Open
Alex Eala’s ranking was in danger of taking a nosedive as she played in this year’s Miami Open, but the Filipina star is making progress in her hopes of avoiding a big drop.
Eala went into the Miami tournament with the ranking points from her run in the same event last year dropping off her total.
That meant she saw her ranking take a big hit, as the player who is sitting at No 29 in the WTA Rankings was in danger of dropping out of the top 50 if she suffered an early exit in the WTA 1000 event in Florida.
It was a scenario that meant the pressure was piled onto Eala as she returned to the scene of her great success from 12 months ago, but she is making good progress in her efforts to limit the damage to her rankings.
The draw did not appear to be kind to Eala, as she was set to face No 2 seed Iga Swiatek in the third round, in what would have been a re-match of their Miami clash last year.
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Yet a shock defeat for Swiatek against Magda Linette meant Eala’s path to the last-16 opened up and she has taken full advantage of the shock exit for the Wimbledon champion.
Eala got a bye in the opening round as she is the No 31 seed and she beat Laura Siegemund in her opening match.
Now she has completed a battling win against Swiatek’s conqueror Linette, with her 6-3, 7-6[2] win being completed in an hour and 48 minutes.
“Madga is such a fighter and every time I play here, she puts me in difficult positions,” said Eala.
“Patience was a very key aspect of how I played today. Kudos to her for playing well and I really enjoyed the battle.
“Being aggressive is always what I’ve aimed to do and it’s really come out well in the last year. I think being aggressive is something I’d like to do.
“I think I’ve matured a lot in the last year. I’ve been in a lot of high-pressure matches and I have been put on so many big stages and I’m so grateful for that.”
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If Eala can match her run to the 2025 semi-finals in Miami, Eala should hold on to her place in the top 30 of the WTA Rankings.
Yet that will not be an easy task as Eala will face a tough battle against world No 14 Karolina Muchova and if she comes through that challenging battle, a possible meeting with another rising star of the women’s game may beckon and Victoria Mboko is in her quarter of the draw.
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