CONTINUING to break new grounds in her young career, Alex Eala rises to a new career-high No. 18 in the latest WTA rankings released Monday.
The Filipina climbed two spots from No. 20 after her run at the Cincinnati Open, and ahead of the 2026 US Open.
Eala entered Cincinnati as the 17th seed and opened her campaign with a dominant win over Elena-Gabriela Ruse then faced Anisimova with the American eventually prevailing.
Despite the loss, Eala's Cincinnati campaign added valuable ranking points and pushed her past her previous career high of No. 20.
The new ranking also comes at an opportune time, with Eala set to begin her 2026 US Open campaign this week at Flushing Meadows.
The 20-year-old is expected to be seeded in the women's singles draw, marking only the second Grand Slam in which she enters as a seeded player after Wimbledon, where she reached the Round of 16.
Eala will have a packed week in New York, competing in three events.
Eala has rewritten the Southeast Asian women’s record.
She surpassed the previous record of world No. 19 jointly held by Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn and Indonesia’s Yayuk Basuki.
Only Paradorn Srichaphan’s historic No. 9 ATP ranking remains above her in the region’s all-time rankings.
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