ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA slipped slightly in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings ahead of her much-anticipated debut at the 2026 Indian Wells Open (or BNP Paribas Open) in California, where she is among the top seeds, this weekend.
From climbing to a career-best ranking of No. 31 last week on the heels of an incredible run in Dubai, Ms. Eala stumbled to No. 32 due to the week-long break as the WTA Tour moved from the Middle East to the United States.
The 20-year-old Filipina reached a new high in world tennis after finishing in the Last 8 at the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, marked by a stunning win against WTA No. 8 Jasmine Paolini from Italy.
A small slide, however, should not hinder the confidence of Ms. Eala is amid rapidly growing popularity this year, packing venues from Manila, Auckland and Melbourne to Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai.
And he can expect the same – or even greater – support from California which boasts the largest Filipino population of nearly two million in the entire United States.
Before flying to California, the left-handed ace dropped by Nike World headquarters in Oregon, where he received a hero’s welcome as one of the sneaker brand’s global ambassadors.
Welcoming Mrs. Eala was a series of new images along the Nike hall that also included the brand’s main athletes in all sports.
In Indian Wells, Mrs. Eala also marches in as one of the top guns, ranked 31st for a first-round bye in Saturday’s major tournament.
She will face one of the winners in the qualifying round, which begins on Wednesday to complete the 96-player draw drawn by world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Russia, No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland and No. 3 Elena Rybakina from Kazakhstan.
Reigning champion Mirra Andreeva of Russia (No. 8), who stunned Ms Sabalenka in the Indian Wells final last year, is joined by American Coco Gauff (No.
If Ms. Eala avoids an upset in the qualifiers, and will face Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska (No. 52) or China’s Shuai Zhang (No. 62) in Round 2.
Another game with his best friend Ms. Gauff, who scored a 6-0, 6-2 masterclass over the Filipina ace in Dubai, in the third round is on the table considering Ms. Eala.
Mrs. Eala is determined to finish the Top 30 with another good performance in California before his grand return at the Miami Open, which is also the 1000-level tour where he appeared last year, March 17 to 29.
Besides finishing the quarterfinal in Dubai, Mrs. Eala also impressed at the WTA 250 ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand (semifinal), the WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open (quarterfinal) and the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open, where she reached the singles quarterfinals and doubles semifinals with Jan.
Her first singles exit was in Round 1 of the WTA 1000 Qatar Open after claiming the exhibition title at the Kooyong Classic and her first exit at the Australian Open in Melbourne. – John Bryan Ulanday
