Alex Eala advances directly to second round of Indian Wells Open

MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala’s career-high ranking has propelled her to the next round of the prestigious Indian Wells Open.

Eala received a first-round bye in the star-studded WTA 1000 tournament set to start on March 4 as one of the 32 seeded players.

This comes after the 20-year-old Filipina climbed to a career-high No. 31 in the latest world rankings released on February 23 following her run to the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships, another WTA 1000 event.

All of the top-10 players will see action in Indian Wells, considered one of the biggest tournaments outside the four Grand Slams.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus hopes to get the job done after runner-up finishes in 2023 and 2025, while world No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland shoots for her third Indian Wells crown following victories in 2022 and 2024.

Russia’s world No. 8 Mirra Andreeva returns to defend her title. 

Eala has had an eventful 2026 so far. In Dubai, she beat a top-10 player for the first time this year, sweeping world No. 7 Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the round of 32.

She then ran into two-time Grand Slam champion and world No. 4 Coco Gauff of the United States in the quarterfinals, where Eala suffered a straight-sets defeat.

The experience of battling top-10 players bodes well for Eala as she looks to go on a deep run in Indian Wells, which is the first event of the “Sunshine Double” that includes the Miami Open.

It was in Miami where Eala rose to fame as she made the semifinals of the 2025 edition, beating the likes of Swiatek and other Grand Slam champions Madison Keys of the United States and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia. – Rappler.com