If tennis had a volume knob, Alex Eala just turned it all the way up in Dubai.
A fearless run to the quarterfinals of the USD4-million Dubai Tennis Championships, highlighted by a takedown of a reigning top-10 star, rocketed the 20-year-old Filipina to No. 31 in the latest WTA Rankings. She now sits just one spot outside the Top 30, a remarkable rebound after slipping to No. 47 only a week earlier.
Dubai felt like a home court. Backed by a loud contingent of Filipino fans chanting “Yalla, Eala!” and waving handwritten signs offering her pansit, she delivered her sharpest stretch of tennis so far this season.
She opened against American Hailey Baptiste, then ranked 39th, and took the first set before Baptiste retired with an injury in the second. It was a composed start, but the real statement came next.
Facing World No. 8 Jasmine Paolini, Eala stormed to a 6-1 first set and held her nerve in a tense second-set tiebreak to complete a 6-1, 7-6 upset. The victory turned heads across the draw and announced her arrival as a genuine threat at this level.
She followed that with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Romania’s Sorana Cirstea to reach the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 event. The run ended against former doubles partner and World No. 4 Coco Gauff, but not before Eala secured USD98,500 and 215 ranking points.
Those points pushed her to No. 31, a ranking that comes with major advantages including direct Grand Slam main draw entries and more favorable early-round matchups.
Next up is the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells from March 4 to 15, another WTA 1000 event played outdoors on hard court, a surface that suits her game.
Top 30–she just fell short this time by 7 ranking points—is now within reach. After Dubai, even higher targets no longer seem out of bounds.
