Alex Eala’s first WTA Tour event of 2026 tennis season confirmed
Alex Eala is set for her first full season on the WTA Tour and her first tournament of the 2026 season has now been confirmed.
On the back of her breakthrough 2025 campaign that saw her rise to the top 50 in the WTA Rankings, Eala is now assured of direct entries into the biggest events in women’s tennis and she will make her bow at the ASB Classic in Auckland in January.
Currently sitting at No 52 in the rankings, the Filipina is set to be seeded as she is the fourth-highest ranked player in the field with world No 14 Elina Svitolina set to be the top seed and Emma Navarro (15), Iva Jovic (35) and Janice Tjen (53) completing the top five.
The WTA 250 tournament will also feature two Grand Slam winners as all-time great and former world No 1 Venus Williams and 2017 US Open winner Sloane Stephens – who are both former champions in Auckland – have received wildcards along with Great Britain’s Katie Boulter.
Clara Tauson is the defending champion, but she has opted to compete at the Brisbane International while 2025 runner-up Naomi Osaka will be in action at the United Cup.
As for Eala, being seeded is a remarkable achievement for the 20-year-old, who was ranked 147th at the end of the 2024 season and played in the second-tier WT level at the beginning of 2025.
Eala competed at the WTA 125k Canberra International at the start of this year and reached the quarter-final and, after failing to qualify for the Australian Open, she played at the ITF Bengaluru Open where she lost in the second round.
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But the rising star will play at the top-level Auckland event next year while her entry for the 2026 Australian Open has also been confirmed, as her ranking of 52 puts her directly into the main draw.
The Auckland Open runs from January 5-11 while the season-opening Grand Slam at Melbourne Park will get underway on January 18.
There are two tournaments – the Adelaide International and Hobart International – the week before the hard-court major and Eala could still feature at either event as the entry lists are still to be confirmed.
The youngster has 69 points to defend during the first month of the new season following her run to the quarter-final in Canberra (55 points), second-round appearance in Bengaluru (12) and first-round qualifying loss at the Australian Open (2) in 2025.
But she can quickly make up points with just a couple of wins in Auckland will earn her 54 points while a second-round appearance at the Australian Open is worth 70 points.
