Jan Angelo Batongbakal

Alex Eala now World’s No. 18 and the highest-ranked Southeast Asian in WTA Singles history

Article (news)

Alyana De Guzman

Push Team

<p>Alex Eala has climbed to a new career-high No. 18 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) official rankings released on August 24 (PHT).  </p><p>With the new ranking, Alex is now the highest-ranked Southeast Asian woman in the world after surpassing the previous record of No. 19 set by Indonesia’s Yayuk Basuki and Thailand&#x27;s Tamarine Tanasugarn.</p><p>The Filipino tennis star moved up two spots from her previous best No. 20, reaching another milestone ahead of her US Open campaign. </p><p>According to the latest WTA rankings, Alex now has 2,281 ranking points, moving ahead of Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova. She also sits above Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, who dropped to No. 20. </p><div><br/></div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1787571329263Alex at No. 18.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/></div><div><br/><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/celebrities/2026/8/15/alex-eala-rises-to-career-high-no-18-in-wta-live-rankings-ahead-of-cincinnati-debut-1339" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>READ: Alex Eala rises to career-high No. 18 in WTA live rankings ahead of Cincinnati debut</strong></a></div><div><br/></div><p>Alex’s latest ranking comes despite not winning the Cincinnati Open, where she made it to the third round. </p><p>Entering the tournament as the No. 17 seed, Alex bowed to World No. 10 Amanda Anisimova, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6.  </p><p>Still, her Cincinnati campaign was enough to help her reach another career-high ranking as she continues her rapid climb in the WTA rankings.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/Db51efVEkCI/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=502&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A4034003.7999999523%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="541" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>Back in June, Alex was ranked No. 30 after reaching the semifinals of the Berlin Tennis Open. She then moved to No. 28 following her Wimbledon campaign in July before making a major jump to No. 20 in early August. </p><div><br/></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/celebrities/2026/8/16/national-bank-open-spotlights-alex-eala-1521" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>READ: National Bank Open spotlights Alex Eala: ‘Another few thousand people seemed to discover a new favorite player’</strong></a></div><div><br/></div><p>That leap came after her historic title run at the Mubadala DC Open, where she became the first Filipino player to win a WTA singles title. </p><div><br/></div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-2" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DboKqgxGJWV/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=502&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A2%2C%22os%22%3A4140571.5999999046%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="541" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-2" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>Now ranked No. 18, Alex is set to continue her campaign at the 2026 US Open, the final Grand Slam tournament of the season.  </p><p>Alex will compete in the US Open mixed doubles event, where she will team up with World No. 4 Felix Auger-Aliassime. The mixed doubles main draw will be held from August 25 to 26. </p><p>She will also enter the Women’s Singles campaign, with the draw to be revealed on August 27.</p>

<p>Alex Eala has reached another career milestone after rising to No. 18 in the latest WTA rankings, making her the highest-ranked Southeast Asian woman in the world. </p>

Alex Eala has reached another career milestone after rising to No. 18 in the latest WTA rankings, making her the highest-ranked Southeast Asian woman in the world.