Alex Eala Climbs to World No. 69 in WTA Rankings

Filipino tennis star Alex Eala reached another career milestone after climbing to world No. 69 in the latest Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings released Monday, her highest singles ranking to date.

Despite suffering a first-round loss at the Italian Open last week, the 19-year-old continues to rise in the global tennis scene and remains the highest-ranked Southeast Asian woman in singles.

Eala was eliminated by Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, 0-6, 1-6, in the opening round of the Rome tournament but still managed to gain ranking points from her earlier WTA campaign, including her breakthrough run at the Miami Open in March.

“It’s all part of the journey,” Eala said in a post-match interview following her Rome exit. “Every match, win or lose, teaches me something new.”

The Rafa Nadal Academy standout also improved in the women’s doubles rankings, jumping to world No. 224 after partnering with American star Coco Gauff in Rome.

The Eala-Gauff tandem reached the quarterfinals of the Italian Open doubles draw before bowing to Italian home favorites and defending champions Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in a tightly contested match, 5-7, 6-3 (7-10).

“Many times I’ve apologized to her, but she’s quick, she’s fast, so she’s there to cover for me,” said Gauff, now ranked world No. 2 in singles, showing admiration for Eala’s court awareness.

The Rome campaign followed a landmark Miami Open for Eala, where she stunned top-seeded players including then-world No. 1 Iga Swiatek. That performance catapulted her into the top 100 and made her the first Filipina to do so in WTA history.

Currently training at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain, Eala is preparing for her highly anticipated main draw debut at the French Open on May 25.

However, she may enter either the Internationaux de Strasbourg (May 18–24) or the Morocco Open in Rabat (May 17–24) as warm-up events before taking on Roland Garros.

Eala ended 2024 ranked No. 148 but has surged nearly 80 spots in under six months, signaling a rapid ascent in the professional circuit.

Her steady progress underscores the growing influence of Southeast Asian athletes in international tennis and has inspired a wave of new Filipino talents aiming to follow in her footsteps.

In the current WTA rankings, Aryna Sabalenka remains the world No. 1, followed by Coco Gauff at No. 2 and Jessica Pegula at No. 3. Paolini, who beat Gauff in the Rome finals, is now ranked fourth.

Swiatek, whom Eala defeated earlier this year, has dropped to No. 5, while China’s Zheng Qinwen, who ousted Sabalenka in the Rome quarterfinals, is also making waves inside the top 10.

As Eala continues her breakthrough season, all eyes will be on her as she enters her first-ever Grand Slam main draw in Paris—where a new chapter in her young but remarkable career is about to unfold.