Alex Eala records new career-high world No. 15, lands as Asia’s 2nd best

MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala continues to wade through uncharted waters in her blossoming tennis career as she notched yet another career-high world rank of No. 15 in the latest WTA rankings released on Monday, November 9.

With this newest rise on the women’s tennis leaderboards, the 21-year-old Eala has now traded places with Japanese star Naomi Osaka, who took Eala’s old No. 17 spot, while Romania’s Sorana Cirstea sits between them at No. 16.

Like her rise to No. 15, Eala’s switch with Osaka is a historic career feat in itself, as the Filipina sensation is now the second-highest-ranked Asian in the world, trailing only world No. 1 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan.

Both Osaka and Eala have since ended their respective 2026 seasons, with the Japanese standout bowing out of the Toray Pan Pacific Open Round of 16 last November 1, and the Filipina falling to American Claire Liu in a one-sided Hong Kong Open final last November 8.

“This season, it hass changed my life. It has changed my life for the better,” Eala said at the Hong Kong Open awarding ceremony alongside Liu, who rose 33 spots from world No. 102 to 69 with her title win.

“I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve put in this year, and we’re the only ones who truly know what it took to arrive to this point in our journey,” added Eala, whose ranking surged this year after a historic title run at the Washington Open, a WTA 500 event.

“Thank you so, so much. This is only the beginning. And this one, like all of them, is ours. Thank you, everyone.”

Joining Rybakina, Eala, and Osaka as Asia’s top five are top Chinese stars Qinwen Zheng at world No. 22 and Xinyu Wang at No. 38.

Completing the world’s top 5, meanwhile, are Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, Mirra Andreeva of Russia, and familiar Eala rivals Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula of the United States at No. 4 and 5, respectively.

Eala soon heads back to the Philippines to further celebrate her career highs and 2026 season overall with a big homecoming event, “Alex Eala Live: Game. Set. Celebrate,” at the 55,000-seater Philippine Arena on December 8.

There, Eala will play Southeast Asia’s second-best tennis star, world No. 60 Janice Tjen of Indonesia, in a marquee exhibition. – Rappler.com