On the cusp of history: Alexandra Eala rises to 51st in the world ahead of Hong Kong Open with top 50 in her sights

A breakthrough year for Alexandra Eala just keeps getting better and better, with her now on the brink debuting in the WTA top 50 after reaching to a best 51st in the world. That is despite her recent form not replicating the soaring heights she has previously experienced this year.

With barely anything to defend in 2025, it is a free hit for the 20-year-old to climb as high as she can in the rankings without having to look behind her with the one-year ranking system. What you earn will be taken off that time next year, with players always under pressure in sustaining enough ranking points so they do not avoid a possible inevitable plummet if their form takes a turn for the worse.

That is something the young Filipino does not have on her mind at the moment, as she looks to continue her steady climb, passing other WTA stars as she closes in on the coveterd top 50. She is currently set to compete in the Hong Kong Open, with a clash against last year's finalist Katie Boulter, who is looking to get back on track with a similar result to 2024.

Eala started the year as the world number 140, had never reached the main draw of a Grand Slam and had only won just a single match in any Masters 1000 event. Since then, she has endured an eye-catching rise which has seen her compete and even beat the best in the world, claiming her maiden WTA titles while making history for her country.

After becoming the first tennis player from her country to break the top 100, she has now got a keen eye for the top 50. As things stand, she sits in 51st on the same quantity of rankings points as Anastasia Potapova with 1,131 points accumulated. However, the Russian is not competing in either Hong Kong or the other WTA events materialising in Chennai and Jiangxi. A win against Boulter would earn her 30 points, pushing her up officially into the world top 50, ticking off another huge achievement in her very tender career.

However, she will not want to stop there. A last-16 tie against fellow young star Victoria Mboko could very well be on the cards. The Canadian is the third seed heading into the tournament and faces off against Aussie Talia Gibson in her opening clash. Whoever Eala faces, another 54 points will be up for grabs along with a place in the quarter-finals. This would put her deeper into the world top 50, placing her 48th barring other players movement. A semi-final appearance could push her up another couple of places to 46th in the world, with a final bumping her up to world number 43. If she can go on to win her second WTA title, she will clamber into the top 40 for the first time, with the 250 points pushing her as high as world number 37. This does not factor other players involvement, with numerous stars still competing in Asia with these 250 events the last chance many players will get of adding ranking points to their tallies.

While the title is still a long way off, Eala has proven that she is good enough to go the whole way. At the Eastbourne Open, things could have gone very differently in a dramatic final encounter with fellow youngster Maya Joint. Eala squandered four match points before the Aussie claimed her second to cruelly snatch the title away from an emotional Eala. She managed to get over the line in a WTA 125 event in Guadalajara, overcoming Panna Udvardy in three sets. Adding to that, her mesmerising semi-final in in the Miami Open as a wildcard caught loads of tennis fans attention, most notably how he dismissed Grand Slam champions such as Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, and most notably Iga Swiatek, all without dropping a set. Despite her losing out to eventual runner-up Jessica Pegula, this result proves that she has the capability of beating anyone on her day, and that there will be a lot more of her to come in the future.