Alex Eala’s stunning rankings breakthrough could be a sign of things to come in 2026

Kevin Palmer 11 Jan 2026 2:30 PM

Alex Eala relaxed after a match

Alexandra Eala could be one of the big movers in the WTA Rankings in the opening quarter of 2026, with her promising start to the season fuelling hopes of a major breakthrough for the star from the Philippines.

Eala announced her arrival to the tennis world as she reached the semi-finals of last year’s Miami Open, beating Iga Swiatek in a run that fired her into the tennis spotlight.

Her appearance in a first WTA Tour final at Eastbourne last June was another milestone moment in the career of a player who has attracted a huge fanbase from her army of supporters in her homeland and around the tennis world.

Eala was world No 138 at the start of 2025 and made a big leap up the rankings after her breakthrough season, with her run to the semi-finals in her opening event of this new year in Auckland allowing her to break into the top 50 of the WTA Rankings for the first time.

Now her rise could be about to go to the next level, as she was playing ITF World Tour events this time last year and did not have a ranking that allowed her to play in the biggest events in tennis.

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Playing in lower-ranking events this time last year meant she was playing for fewer ranking points and with those points set to drop off her total, she could replace them with bigger points totals as she will be playing in marquee WTA Tour events in 2026.

She lost in the first round of qualifying for the Australian Open last year, but is guaranteed a place in the main draw for this first Grand Slam of this year and if she could win a couple of matches in Melbourne, she would enjoy a big leap up the WTA Rankings.

After that, she will also have big chances to pick up ranking gains and she is only defending a modest number of points from this time last year.

She will have 390 points to defend by the time she gets to the Miami Open in March, but Eala has a big chance to collect enough ranking points before that to ensure that those points dropping off her ranking will not have a big impact on her position.

If she can build on her promising displays in Auckland, the 20-year-old who has been training at the Rafael Nadal Academy in Mallorca could be ranked inside the top 32 on the WTA list and if she can maintain that progress, she could be among the seeds for the second Grand Slam of the year at Roland Garros in June.

That would represent a stunning rise for Eala and she spoke to Tennis365 last year about how she is handling the expectations that are now resting on her shoulders when she steps on court.

“I think I have done a good job and my team have done a good job of dealing with everything that happened after Miami,” said Eala, speaking exclusively to Tennis365.

“So many things changed and my perspective has changed since Miami, but my day-to-day life is the same. I have the same work ethic and the same attention to detail.

“What happened in Miami was definitely a big surprise for me. It’s difficult because I try not to look at it as a big picture thing, as that tournament progressed.

“I didn’t even look at the draw. I just went match by match because you don’t know how far you are going to get and every round there was another big obstacle.

“For sure, it gave me a lot of confidence to know that my level is there to play against the top players, but I know there is a lot more for me to do before i can be there consistently.”

Eala went on to suggest her family are the most important people in her life and they keep her grounded as the tennis spotlight falls on her once again at Wimbledon this summer.

“I am lucky that my family played such a big role in my career and they have been so important for me so far,” she told us.

“They built the structure for me. They built the path I walked on. That was the start I needed to start my career.

“For me, family is such a crucial part of who I am and from where I come from, we are so family-oriented.”