Eala rises to new career-high No. 16 in WTA live rankings
The Manila Times · 11/7/2026, 8:11:38 AM Philippine time
Excerpt from The Manila Times. Read the original report below for the complete story.MANILA, Philippines — Following a quarterfinal win at the WTA 250 Hong Kong Open Friday night, Alex Eala climbed one spot to a new career-high No. 16 in the WTA live rankings.Eala entered the final tournament of her season with a new official career-high rank of No. 17 with 2,289 points last week.Reaching the semifinals after three wins including a 7-6(7), 7-5 quarterfinal escape against world No. 81 Antonia Ruzic, Eala now sports 2,327 points.The 21-year-old netter eclipsed former No. 16 in 4-time Grand Slam champ Naomi Osaka who has 2,315.Hong Kong No. 2 seed Eala was set to face world No. 30 and No. 4 seed Maria Sakkari in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon.A win against the former world No. 3 would not only give a final spot to Eala but also push her another career-high rank No. 15.The live rankings indicated that Eala's next total points after a semis win would be 2,392.That would be enough for Eala…