Why Alex Eala has a lot to lose at the Miami Open next month

Dubai: Filipino superstar Alexandra Eala has four big weeks of tennis coming up as she recovers from her exploits in Dubai where she reached the quarters, having beaten current world No 7 Jasmine Paolini on the way.

In the process, the 20-year-old moved up to a career-high 31 in the rankings, thus ensuring that she will be seeded at both Indian Wells and Miami, the two big Sunshine Swing WTA 1000 events in March.

Being a seeded player essentially means she is likely to get a bye in the first round. While the Filipina is expected to progress deep at both events, especially after having famously made it to the semi-finals of the Miami Open in 2025, on the flip side, Eala will have to defend 390 of her 1,432 points in Florida next month.

She can add points to her tally before then, though, at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells which begins on March 4.

In case she falls early at Indian Wells, she will not have much to lose, as she will be making her debut. But Miami will be a different ball game altogether and that is where her resolve and quality will be tested the most.

Rollercoaster ride

During her wildcard run at Miami last year, Eala had defeated Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek before losing to Dubai champion Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals. She became the first Filipino to reach a WTA 1000 event semi-final, the first Filipino woman to defeat a major champion at a tour-level event in the Open Era, and the first wildcard in history to defeat three major champions in straight sets at a single WTA event.

Since then, Eala has been on a rollercoaster ride culminating in her current ranking high. The Filipina knows she has to work of her strength and stamina and most importantly on her serve if she hopes to recreate her Miami magic again. But then, she is a fighter — it’s no wonder boxing great and Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao gave her a shoutout recently — and going by how popular she is on the WTA Tour, expect the gritty counter-puncher to punch above her weight roared on by expat Filipino fans at both events. A failure to do so, however, could peg her back substantially, dropping her down to the low 50s again.