ALEXANDRA Eala moved two places up to a career-best No. 18 in the WTA live rankings after moving on to the third round of the Cincinnati Open.
The 21-year-old Filipina tennis star currently has 2,166 live ranking points, continuing her steady rise toward the WTA top 10.
Eala’s climb was partly aided by changes in the rankings of players ahead of her, including Jasmine Paolini and Ekaterina Alexandrova, who lost points from their results in last year’s Cincinnati and Monterrey tournaments.
Paolini dropped to No. 20 with 2,124 points after the rankings removed 649 points from her previous total. Alexandrova, meanwhile, fell from No. 18 to No. 19 after 375 points were deducted.
Eala also has relatively few points to defend for the remainder of the season, giving her an opportunity to further improve her ranking.
At the US Open, she will need to defend only 70 points from her second-round appearance last year. Another 125 points came from her title run at the Guadalajara WTA 125 in September 2025.
The Cincinnati Open is also significant for Eala’s ranking because it marks her sixth WTA 1000 event eligible for inclusion in her ranking tally. She had previously counted five WTA 1000 tournaments, meaning points earned in Cincinnati could further boost her total.
A strong showing in Cincinnati could therefore strengthen Eala’s position inside the world’s top 20 and bring her closer to her goal of breaking into the top 10.
Eala entered the WTA 1000 event as the No. 17 seed and received a first-round bye. She advanced to the third round after Elena-Gabriela Ruse retired while trailing, 6-1, 3-0. (Adrian Co)
