Alex Eala earns new career-high ranking going into US Open

DISBELIEF. The Philippines' Alex Eala in action in the 2026 Washington Open. Mubadala DC Open Instagram page Alex Eala eclipses her previous career-high ranking of No. 20 following strong runs in the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala returns to the US Open with a new career-high ranking. The Filipina tennis star rose to No. 18 in the latest WTA rankings released on Monday, August 24, days before she begins her campaign in the last Grand Slam of the year. Eala eclipsed her previous career high of No. 20, which she achieved on August 3 after winning her breakthrough WTA Tour crown in the Washington Open following strong runs in the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open. She reached the round of 16 in the Canadian Open, where she fell to Swiss world No. 12 Belinda Bencic, then made the round of 32 in the Cincinnati Open, where her winning streak against top-10 players got snapped at the hands of American world No. 10 Amanda Anisimova. It will be a busy US Open schedule for the 21-year-old as she first takes part in mixed doubles play, teaming up with Canadian star and ATP No. 4 Felix Auger-Aliassime. Eala and Auger-Aliassime will take on husband and wife Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina in the round of 16. The Filipina will also see action in the Stars of the Open exhibition event, which features other top male and female players in Anisimova, Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, USA’s Iva Jovic, Alex Michelsen, and Learner Tien, Brazil’s Joao Fonseca, and France’s Arthur Fils. After that, Eala will open her campaign in the women’s singles tournament, where she is expected to be seeded 17th, her highest in a major. She seeks to surpass her second-round appearance in the 2025 edition, where she beat Denmark’s Clara Tauson in the opening round to become the first Filipino to win a Grand Slam main draw match in the Open era. – Rappler.com How does this make you feel? Loading