Alex Eala suffered a big slide in her WTA Ranking after the Miami Open and now she is eyeing up a return to the top 32 ahead of the French Open.

Eala enjoyed a breakthrough run when she reached the semi-finals of the WTA 1000 event in Miami in 2025, with her heavy defeat against Linda Noskova in the last-16 of this year’s event in Flordia seeing a big haul of ranking points drop off her record.

Eala went into Miami ranked at No 32, but she dropped down to No 46 after the defeat against Noskova.

That ranking slide would have an impact on her hopes at upcoming Grand Slam tournaments, with the top ranked 32 players getting a seeing at the French Open and Wimbledon.

With limited ranking points to defend over the next few weeks, Eala has a big chance to leap up the rankings and she has made a solid start at the WTA 500 event in Linz.

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Eala turned in an impressive ball striking display as she beat local favourite Julia Grabher 6-4, 6-3 in the first round, with her battling qualities shining through in a tight contest.

Grabher, who has climbed from No 470 to No 89 in the world rankings over the past 15 months, showed some impressive moments of class as she pushed Eala all the way, but the Filipina star got over the winning line to seal her 15th win of the season.

“I think I kept the intensity well throughout the match,” said Eala. “She’s a very intense player and has really good shots. I’m really happy with the win.”

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Eala has been tipped to burst into the top 20 of the WTA Rankings by former world No 4 Greg Rusedski, who believes the Filipina star is a ‘great asset for the WTA Tour’.

Speaking on his Off Court With Greg Rusedski podcast, Rusedski discussed Eala’s huge popularity and her prospects for the clay season.

“She’s like Manny Pacquiao, and they’re always so hungry for a new superstar [in the Philippines],” said the 1997 US Open runner-up.

“She’s a lovely girl, she’s been at the Rafael Nadal academy for multiple years. We talked about the serve getting better.

“It’s gonna be harder for people to hit a hole through her [on clay], it’s gonna be much more physically combative.

“Being at the academy with Rafa on clay, he’s spent a lot of time with her, so she knows what to do.

“I’d love to see her in the top 20; she is great for the WTA. We need more stars, we need more names, and we need new people. And she opens up a marketplace, and people just love her.

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“Anywhere around the world where there are people from the Philippines, they’re always talking about her: ‘What meal can I cook for her? What can I do?’

“Automatically, her matches sell out, and for me, she is a huge, huge positive. I’d love to see her, on this surface, crack the top 20 in the world.”

Eala will not face Jelena Ostapenko in her next match in Linz, with the former French Open champion set to offer her a huge challenge.

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