Alex Eala breaks into WTA top 50 for first time following ASB Classic semi-final run

Alex Eala has climbed into the world’s top 50 for the first time in her career, rising to No 49 in the latest Women's Tennis Association (WTA).

The 20-year-old Filipina produced an encouraging start to her 2026 season at the ASB Classic in Auckland, where she reached the semi-finals of the WTA 250 event. Eala recorded a straight-sets win over Poland’s Magda Linette in the quarter-finals before her run was ended by Wang Xinyu of the People's Republic of China. Top seed Elina Svitolina went on to win the title.

The result in Auckland lifted Eala one place from her previous career-high ranking of No 50 and marked another step forward after a steady rise on the WTA Tour over the past year.

Eala in action in Melbourne ahead of the 2026 Australian Open

Eala will next compete at the invitational Kooyong Classic in Melbourne on Tuesday (13 January).

She is one of just four WTA players invited to the exhibition event, staged at Melbourne’s Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club from 13–15 January and designed to give players match reps and sharpen-up time ahead of the Australian Open (the main draw of which begins on Sunday 18 January).

Joining her in the women’s line-up are Croatia’s Donna Vekic — a 2024 Wimbledon semi-finalist and Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist, whom Eala beat in Auckland — alongside Australia’s Priscilla Hon and Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova, a 42-year-old former tour player and multiple Grand Slam mixed doubles champion.

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