WTA Rankings: Alex Eala set to break into top 30 after ailing Coco Gauff retires
Alex Eala will continue her remarkable rise in the WTA Rankings after securing her place in the fourth round of the Indian Wells Open on the back of Coco Gauff’s retirement.
The Filipina dominated the first set against a visibly ailing Gauff as she won the opener 6-2 with the American taking a medical timeout for treatment on her left forearm while trailing 5-2.
Eala – who lost 6-0, 6-2 against Gauff a fortnight ago in the quarter-final of the Dubai Tennis Championships – then won the first two games of the second set before the two-time Grand Slam winner retired with 54 minutes on the match clock.
During her on-court interview, the 31st seed stated: “First and foremost, I want to say Happy (International) Women’s Day, everybody. Bear with me, because I have a lot to say.
“I want to say thank you to all the incredible women who have paved the way and who have advocated for themselves and for other women. Among them is Coco, so thank you Coco for being an amazing competitor and an amazing role model. And I really hope that everything is well and you will recover soon.”
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WTA Rankings Boost
The 20-year-old, who is playing in Indian Wells for the first time in her career, started the WTA 1000 tournament at No 32 in the rankings, but she has climbed four places in the Live Rankings on the back of her wins over Dayana Yastremska and Gauff.
She is set to crack the top 30 for the first time, coming in at No 28 with potential to move up even higher if she continues her good run.
Eala was the first Filipina to reach the top 100 of the WTA Rankings on the back of her semi-final appearance at the Miami Open in March last year as she started the tournament at No 140 and finished at No 75.
Not long after she cracked the top 50 before making her top 40 debut in February with the top 30 now set to follow.
She will face 14th seed Linda Noskova – who defeated Sorana Cirstea in three sets – for a place in the quarter-final and if she gets past the Czech she could rise as high as No 24.
After the match, the youngster insisted that while that was not the way she wanted to win, she is taking plenty of positives from her performance.
“It’s always very difficult, a difficult decision to retire from a match, I know. No one likes winning like that, and no one likes losing like that,” she said.
“Nevertheless, I’m really happy with how I played. I’m really happy with my performance, and I hope I can make the best out of the momentum.”
