A long wait ends: Ekaterina Alexandrova secures Top 10 spot at 30 years old

Ekaterina Alexandrova secured her place in the Top 10 for the first time in her career - at 30-year-old - despite her defeat in the Round of 16 at the Wuhan Open. Following a year of notable consistency for the Russian, her elimination in the Round of 16 against Pegula ended her hopes in the final WTA 1000 of the year, yet allowed her to achieve an unforgettable milestone.

Alexandrova had started the Asian swing in excellent form, reaching the final of the WTA 500 Korea Open—though she ultimately fell to Iga Świątek in three sets. The good point accumulation left her at No. 11 in the ranking, needing just one more step to finally achieve her first entry among the world's top 10 players.

Her time at the China Open was brief, as Alexandrova fell in the first round to Barbora Krejčíková, being eliminated in her debut for the second consecutive year. Without adding points there, she had to wait a little longer to enter the Top 10, despite having been inside the Top 10 of the Race (only considering 2025 points) for several weeks.

The injury to Zheng Qinwen—a Top 10 player all season—prevented her from defending her Asian swing points, including the Wuhan final—a tournament she ultimately missed due to the injury. Given this, Alexandrova started the tournament with a clear chance to enter the Top 10, although accumulating points was important if she didn't want to be threatened by her pursuers.

At the start of the day, Alexandrova fell in a three-set battle against Pegula, departing the tournament with a total of 3,158 points and at No. 10 (about 130 points more than Zheng, No. 11 in the projected ranking for next Monday). Alexandrova's exit in the Round of 16 did not immediately secure her place in the Top 10, as she had to await the results of some of her rivals who still had hopes of surpassing her.

Such was the case for Clara Tauson—who needed to reach the tournament final to enter the Top 10—and the possibility for Belinda Bencic and Linda Nosková, who would have displaced Alexandrova had they lifted the Wuhan title. However, all three were eliminated throughout this day. Tauson retired mid-match in the third set against Jasmine Paolini, while Nosková fell in straight sets to Rybakina. And by the end of the day, Bencic was eliminated in straight sets by Świątek.

The Swiss player's exit ultimately confirmed that Alexandrova will be the newest player to join the Top 10 for the first time in her career starting Monday. She is now in a good position to finish the year inside the Top 10, with an advantage of more than 300 points over her closest pursuer, the Dane Tauson.