MANILA, Philippines – Identical to within the Indian Wells Open, Alex Eala will obtain a first-round bye in her return to the Miami Open, the event that marked a turning level in her profession.
That is a bonus as one of many 32 seeded gamers, with Eala at the moment ranked No. 32 on this planet and anticipated to climb to No. 28 when the brand new WTA rankings are launched on Monday, March 16, after she reached the spherical of 16 in Indian Wells.
However the Filipina tennis star is in peril of shedding that perk as she must go on one other deep run in Miami to defend the factors she gained from her semifinal look in 2025 or endure a considerable drop within the rankings.
Rankings defined
Following a rolling 52-week cumulative rating system, the WTA determines the singles gamers’ rankings by the outcomes of a most of 18 tournaments, or 19 for many who participate within the season-ending WTA Finals.
These 18 tournaments embody the 4 Grand Slams (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon Championships, and US Open), the perfect outcomes from six 1000-level mixed occasions (Indian Wells and Miami, for instance), the perfect consequence from a WTA-only 1000 occasion (Qatar Open, Dubai Tennis Championships, and Wuhan Open), and greatest outcomes from seven different occasions.
Grand Slams provide probably the most factors, with the champion and the finalist getting 2,000 and 1,300 factors, respectively.
In 1000-level occasions like Indian Wells and Miami, the factors distribution is as follows: 1,000 for profitable the title, 650 for reaching the ultimate, 390 for the semifinals, 215 for the quarterfinals, 120 for the spherical of 16, 65 for the spherical of 32, 35 for the spherical of 64, and 10 for the spherical of 128.
When the WTA updates its rankings on Monday, Eala is projected to rise to a career-high No. 28, having earned 120 factors for making the spherical of 16 in Indian Wells, though her spot on this planet high 30 is in jeopardy if she fails to defend the 390 factors she obtained from Miami in 2025, which accounts for one-fourth of the 1,542 factors she at the moment owns.
Because the thirty second seed in Miami this 12 months, Eala advances on to the spherical of 64 and can achieve 65 factors if she wins her opening match and makes the spherical of 32.
Nonetheless, she’s going to get considerably much less if she crashes out of the spherical of 64, because the WTA rulebook states that gamers who obtain a bye and lose their first match might be given the first-round losers’ factors, that are 10 factors for the spherical of 128.
In that state of affairs, Eala will lose 380 factors and face the potential for slipping outdoors the highest 50, so each win is essential in cushioning the autumn.
After all, probably the most superb consequence for Eala is the championship, which suggests an extra 610 factors that may propel her to the highest 20.
Miami magic
Eala has confirmed that she might be as harmful as any of the world’s greatest gamers, together with her Miami marketing campaign in 2025 seeing her pull off a collection of upsets over Grand Slam champions Iga Swiatek of Poland, Madison Keys of the USA, and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia.
Then ranked one hundred and fortieth on this planet, Eala first shocked 2017 French Open winner Ostapenko within the spherical of 64, then surprised 2025 Australia Open titlist Keys within the spherical of 32, earlier than she claimed arguably her most high-profile sufferer when she stunned six-time main champion and former world No. 1 Swiatek within the quarterfinals.
Eala ultimately misplaced within the semifinals to present world No. 5 Jessica Pegula of the USA, however that Cinderalla run in Miami catapulted the Filipina to better heights as she made the world high 100 for the primary time, which merited automated entry to the principle draw of Grand Slams.
The 20-year-old Eala has continued her giant-slaying methods this 2026.
On her technique to the quarterfinals in Dubai, Eala beat present world No. 7 Jasmine Paolini of Italy within the spherical of 32 for her first top-10 win of the 12 months.
In Indian Wells, Eala was dominating present world No. 4 Coco Gauff of their spherical of 32 conflict, 6-2, 2-0, when the two-time Grand Slam champion retired because of an damage.
“Miami final 12 months was a fantastic time for me, and it was the beginning of all of this, however since then, I’ve achieved loads as properly,” mentioned Eala in a story on the Indian Wells Open web site.
“I’ve grown loads, and I’ve had so many good matches, so many powerful losses, a lot expertise since then. And that’s helped me construct confidence, shallowness, and I do know that I belong right here.”
Whereas the stress is on for Eala to weave the identical magic in Miami, she is unfazed by any attainable consequence, understanding she has confirmed herself worthy of her place on the tour.
“It doesn’t matter if I win the event in Miami or if I lose within the first spherical, I do know I’m right here, and I’m right here to remain.” – Rappler.com
