Alex Eala faces her moment of truth in Miami

Dubai: Filipino tennis sensation Alexandra Eala has just reached another career-high in the WTA rankings, and while it is sure to give her quiet satisfaction, the 20-year-old from Quezon City will also know how big the upcoming two weeks in Miami is going to be for her tennis future.

But before we get to that, the positives first.

Eala has now climbed up to world No 29 in the latest rankings released on Monday, with her breakthrough calendar year, since her sensational semi-final run in Miami last year as a wildcard ranked No 140, turning a full circle. The feisty counter-puncher will not only be a seeded player in the Miami WTA 1000 event which starts on Tuesday, she will also receive a first-round bye by virtue of that.

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Gained 10 points

The hugely-popular Filipina reached the Round of 16 in her previous WTA 1000 tournament at Indian Wells, where she did not play last year, and the 120 points she gained during her run there will really come in handy if she cannot replicate her Miami performance from last year, given she has an enormous 380 points to defend — she has already gained 10 points owing to her first-round bye in Miami.

As per the Miami Open draw released on Monday, Eala, seeded 31, will meet either No 55 Laura Siegemund of Germany or No 72 Petra Marcinko of Croatia in Round 2.

And this is where things start getting difficult for Eala.

If she manages to get through to Round 3, she will come up against second seed and world No 3 Iga Swiatek of Poland. Now, mind you, the then world No 2 Swiatek was one of Eala’s victims during the Filipina’s glorious run in Miami last year, with the left-hander winning 6-2, 7-5 in the quarter-finals.

Eala recently told The Sit-Down podcast: “I think that [Miami run] has to be the highlight of my career so far. That’s what put me on the map. Everything clicked after that. I look back at that moment, and I just think, wow, it was insane.

“It’s crazy to believe that actually happened.”

Building on confidence

Following her solid campaign in the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, Eala said, “Miami last year was a beautiful time for me and it was the start of all of this. Since then, I’ve achieved a lot and I’ve grown a lot as well. I had so many good matches, tough losses and so much experience since then and that has helped me build confidence, self-esteem.

“And I know that I belong here.”

Indeed she does, but with every good performance, the pressure of expectation rises, especially given her fan-following wherever she plays.

And it is not just the pressure from her fans that she has to handle now. She has a lot to lose ranking-wise as well.

The WTA uses a rolling 52-week, cumulative system for the rankings and players have to defend points from their 18 best tournaments or the corresponding period 12 months ago. As a result, Eala has already dropped 20 spots in the Live Rankings and currently sits at No 49.

And that is the reality staring her in the face right now.

A stellar show in Miami will put her right back where she belongs, but a slip will prove very costly, as she will be negotiating the lower half of the draw that also features 2023 French Open finalist Karolina Muchova, world No 9 Victoria Mboko and 2024 French Open semi-finalist and Russian teen sensation Mirra Andreeva.

But don’t bet against her pulling off those big upsets. She has been there and done that before.