Alex Eala has clinched a significant milestone in the WTA Rankings as she defeated Maria Sakkari to reach the final at the 2026 Hong Kong Open.
The Filipina superstar earned a 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 victory over world No 30 Sakkari in the semi-finals at the WTA 250 tournament on Saturday.
It was Eala’s first-ever encounter with Sakkari — a 31-year-old Greek who reached a career-high ranking of world No 3 in 2022.
Prior to beating Sakkari, Eala did not lose a set in her wins against Emerson Jones, Tereza Valentova and Antonia Ruzic in Hong Kong.
Eala is through to her third WTA Tour final, having lost the 2025 Eastbourne Open final before securing her maiden title at this year’s Washington Open.
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Eala began the week at her career-high ranking of world No 17, and she had already climbed to a projected new best position of 16th before her last four showdown with Sakkari.
By reaching the title match in Hong Kong, Eala has increased her points total to 2,392, which has seen her overtake Sorana Cirstea and jump to 15th in the Live WTA Rankings.
The 21-year-old will make her top 15 debut when the WTA Rankings update on Monday as she cannot be caught by any players ranked below her this week.
Who will Alex Eala play in the Hong Kong Open final?
Eala will face world No 102 Claire Liu in the final at the Hong Kong Tennis Open on Sunday.
Liu did not lose a set en route to the championship match. The 26-year-old American defeated Tatiana Prozorova, Katie Boulter, Zeynep Sonmez and Alexandre Shubladze.
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