Alex Eala could suffer her first major ranking hit at the Miami Open this month.
Having made the semifinals last year, the Filipina will defend 390 points in 2026.
If she were to suffer an early exit, Eala could drop out of the world’s top 50.
What does Alexandra Eala need to improve in 2026 to challenge for a Grand Slam title?
But even if Eala’s 2026 Miami Open doesn’t go to plan, there’s no reason to panic.
Alex Eala will recover Miami points if she keeps up current form
Eala currently sits 24th in the ‘Live WTA Race’.
That means the 20-year-old has accumulated the 24th most points of anybody in women’s tennis this season.
Live WTA Race
| Rank | Name | Country | Points |
| 20 | Clara Tauson | Denmark | 617 |
| 21 | Maria Sakkari | Greece | 616 |
| 22 | Elisabetta Cocciaretto | Italy | 603 |
| 23 | Jelena Ostapenko | Latvia | 597 |
| 24 | Alex Eala | Philippines | 591 |
| 25 | Janice Tjen | Indonesia | 578 |
| 26 | Magdalena Frech | Poland | 572 |
| 27 | Xinyu Wang | China | 563 |
| 28 | Madison Keys | USA | 521 |
| 29 | Peyton Stearns | USA | 516 |
Eala has picked up more points than Grand Slam champions Madison Keys, Emma Raducanu, and Naomi Osaka in 2026.
Points Alex Eala has earned this year – 591
- ASB Classic – Lost in SF (98 points)
- Australian Open – Lost in 1R (10 points)
- Philippine Women’s Open – Lost in QF (27 points)
- Abu Dhabi Open – Lost in QF (108 points)
- Qatar Open – Lost in 2R (10 points)
- Dubai Tennis Championships – Lost in QF (215 points)
- Indian Wells – Lost in 4R (120 points)
She is a much better player this year than she was in 2025, and now regularly makes deep runs at big tournaments.
If Eala continues to perform that way through the remainder of the 2026 campaign, her ranking will likely reflect her ‘Race’ position, before too long.
An early exit in Florida would be disappointing, of course, but you would back her to shoot back up the rankings over the coming months.
There is, however, one caveat.
The clay-court season.
For as impressive as Eala has been on hard and grass, we have yet to see her produce the same level on the red stuff.
In 2025, Eala only won one tour-level match on clay.
Alex Eala on clay in 2025
- Oeiras 125 1R [WIN] vs Anouk Kouevermans
- Oeiras 125 2R [LOSS] vs Panna Udvardy
- Madrid Open 1R [WIN] vs Viktoriya Tomova
- Madrid Open 2R [LOSS] vs Iga Swiatek
- Italian Open 1R [LOSS] vs Marta Kostyuk
- French Open 1R [LOSS] vs Emiliana Arango
She only picked up a handful of points on clay last season.
That’s a concern, but only if she hasn’t made any improvements.
If she does turn up on clay looking like a different player, then there’s a real opportunity for her to collect some points and charge up the rankings.
There’s tennis to be played before the clay season begins, though, as Eala now heads back to the scene of her breakthrough, Miami.
Could Alex Eala be a dark horse to win the Miami Open?
We’ve been thinking worst-case scenario, considering what may happen if Eala loses early in Miami, but what if she doesn’t?
What if she goes one or two wins better than last year?
Eala played some of her best tennis at the Miami Open in 2025, and she’s come on leaps and bounds since then.
Furthermore, she will arrive in Florida full of confidence, having made the quarterfinals and the fourth round of her last two WTA 1000 events.
When her game is on, Eala can trouble the very best players in women’s tennis.
The only worry for Eala is that her game isn’t always on.
And her bad days can be tough to watch.
Her previous two defeats, to Linda Noskova at Indian Wells and to Coco Gauff in Dubai, were heavy, to say the least.
Alex Eala’s last two defeats
- 2025 Dubai QF [LOSS] vs Coco Gauff, 0-6, 2-6
- 2025 Indian Wells 4R [LOSS] vs Linda Noskova, 2-6, 0-6
If Eala wants to win a WTA 1000 title, she cannot afford to have those ‘bad days’.
She’ll need to be on it, from the first point to the last, for six consecutive matches.
Can she do it?
Only time will tell.
The 2026 Miami Open main draw begins on Tuesday, March 17.
