Tennis Star Alex Eala Makes History as Highest-Ranked Southeast Asian Woman

The Philippines' Alex Eala has climbed to a career-high No 18 in the WTA rankings, officially becoming the highest-ranked woman from Southeast Asia in tennis history. At 21 years old, Eala surpassed the previous milestone of No 19, which was jointly held by Indonesia’s Yayuk Basuki and Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn.

Fresh off her meteoric rise from the Nadal academy to the world's top 20, the Filipina athlete is preparing to compete in both the singles and mixed doubles events at the US Open, the final Grand Slam of the year.

In the mixed doubles draw on Tuesday, she will partner with Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime. The duo is set to face the husband-and-wife pairing of Gael Monfils of France and Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. The victorious team will move on to play against either top seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic or Leylah Fernandez and Frances Tiafoe.

Eala has maintained a stellar season, capturing two singles titles: the Birmingham Open in June and the Mubadala DC Open in August. Her victory at Birmingham marked a historic moment as the first time a Filipino player secured a WTA title. Additionally, her strongest Grand Slam showing this year featured a memorable run to the fourth round at Wimbledon, highlighted by a stunning win over defending champion Iga Swiatek.