Alexandra Eala once again defied the odds on Monday afternoon.
The Filipina cemented her place in the world’s top 20 for the very first time after defeating Jessica Pegula in the Washington Open final.
Eala has now secured her first WTA Tour title: becoming the first Filipina in tennis history to achieve such a feat.
How do you rate Alex Eala’s chances of winning the US Open title this year?
Eala has just won her first WTA Tour title at the Washington Open!
After entering the WTA top 20 for the first time, Eala will now travel to Toronto to take part in the Canadian Open.
With the US Open fast approaching, Eala should now have another major goal in mind.
Alex Eala should seek to secure a top-16 seed for the US Open
Seeding is crucial when it comes to Grand Slam success.
Being a seed prevents a player from drawing any other seeded competitor until the third round.
As things stand, Eala would be seeded 20th at the US Open, meaning she would be projected to play a top-16 seed in the third round.
If Eala were to secure a top-16 seed at the US Open, her chances of advancing far at the event would increase exponentially.
Those who secure a top-16 seed at Grand Slams ensure that they will not face a higher-ranked opponent until the fourth round.
The opportunity is there for the Filipina to secure this seeding, as she has very few WTA ranking points to defend ahead of the US Open.
| Ranking | Player | WTA Ranking Points |
| 1 | Aryna Sabalenka | 8,550 |
| 2 | Elena Rybakina | 8,056 |
| 3 | Jessica Pegula | 6,625 |
| 4 | Coco Gauff | 5,649 |
| 5 | Mirra Andreeva | 5,293 |
| 6 | Karolina Muchova | 5,168 |
| 7 | Linda Noskova | 5,016 |
| 8 | Iga Swiatek | 4,539 |
| 9 | Elina Svitolina | 4,459 |
| 10 | Amanda Anisimova | 4,353 |
| 11 | Marta Kostyuk | 3,925 |
| 12 | Victoria Mboko | 3,520 |
| 13 | Naomi Osaka | 3,281 |
| 14 | Belinda Bencic | 2,845 |
| 15 | Jasmine Paolini | 2,783 |
| 16 | Iva Jovic | 2,636 |
| 17 | Diana Shnaider | 2,593 |
| 18 | Sorana Cirstea | 2,502 |
| 19 | Ekaterina Alexandrova | 2,301 |
| 20 | Alexandra Eala | 2,106 |
Last year, Eala lost in the first round of the Canadian Open and did not participate in Cincinnati.
Therefore, she is only defending 10 ranking points ahead of the final Grand Slam of the year.
If Eala continues to perform as she did in Washington, she may very well secure that coveted top-16 seed for the New York major.
Alex Eala’s 2025 US Open campaign
Eala became the first Filipina to win a Grand Slam singles match in the Open Era when she stunned 14th seed Clara Tauson in the 2025 US Open first round.
Eala roared back from 1-5 down in the final set to triumph 6-3, 2-6, 7-6; winning the final-set tiebreak 13-11.
“It was so, so difficult,” Eala said afterwards, as per the US Open website. “[Clara is] a huge player, she’s a great player.
Will Alex Eala ever win a Grand Slam title?
Definitely not an easy draw for a first round, but I’m so happy that I was able to dig deep. I was just thinking to push the limit physically, mentally…this was it.”
Eala went on to lose in the second round to Spaniard Cristina Bucsa: 4-6, 3-6.
Consequently, Eala earned 70 WTA ranking points in New York.
She went on to secure her first WTA title a week later in Guadalajara.
