Alex Eala rises to No. 29, ranking hangs in balance at Miami tourney

ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA leapt to a new career-best ranking ahead of her grand return to the Miami Open, where she’s also listed among the Top 32 seeds in the main draw.

From No. 32 last week, the 20-year-old Filipina pride improved three rungs to No. 29 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings following a Last 16 finish in the elite Indian Wells Open in California, considered as the “Fifth Grand Slam.”

Ms. Eala, the crowd darling of world tennis today, gained 120 additional points to jack up her harvest to 1,525 points but her stay inside the Top 30 for the first time ever in her budding career now hangs in the balance in Miami.

A total of 390 points from that collection came from the Miami Open, where she had a magical final four finish from being a wildcard entry in the qualifiers.

But those points will expire when the Miami Open officially rolls off on Wednesday, prompting Ms. Eala to replicate her semifinal campaign or lose said ranking points for a projected drastic drop in the world rankings.

An early exit for Ms. Eala, especially at a time when she’s already lurking outside the Top 20-25, would drag her all the way back to 1135 points or around the Top 50-60 mark, where she started this season.

Ms. Eala, however, is up for the tall order as the No. 32 seed with a first-round bye according to the official draw released by Miami on Monday.

With one round already off her checklist, Ms. Eala will face either No. 53 Laura Siegemund of Germany or No. 76 Petra Marcinko of Croatia in Round 2.

It gets tougher from there as no less than world No. 3 Iga Swiatek of Poland possibly awaits in Round 3. Ms. Swiatek, with a first-round bye as well, will battle either her compatriot Magda Linette (No. 50) or Varvara Gracheva of France (No. 60) in Round 2.

Ms. Swiatek was among the three Top 25 players and former Grand Slam champions slain by Ms. Eala in Miami last year to become the first Filipina WTA semifinalist and Top 100 player before climbing the ranks this season to Top 50, Top 40 and now Top 30.

“Miami last year was a beautiful time for me and it was the start of all of this. Since then, I’ve achieved a lot and I’ve grown a lot as well. I had so many good matches, tough losses and so much experience since then and that has helped me build confidence, self-esteem,” she said after a solid campaign in the BNP Paribas Open, a 1000-level tour like Miami.

“And I know that I belong here.” — John Bryan Ulanday