Alex Eala is chasing a WTA Rankings milestone at the 2026 Ningbo Open, but she looks set to face a tough test after her second round opponent was confirmed.
On Monday, Eala dismantled world No 34 Diane Parry 6-3, 6-1 in the opening round of the WTA 500 tournament in Ningbo.
Eala won 11 of the last 13 games of the match as she broke her French opponent six consecutive times, while she won 56 of the 91 total points.
“I’m very happy with my performance,” Eala said in an on-court interview after beating Parry.
“I think it was a really good first round, tough first round. Diane is a great player.
“I think she’s had a really good year, so congrats to her for the year she’s done, and really happy to be in the second round.”
Eala arrived in Ningbo following a 6-4, 3-6, 3-6 upset loss to qualifier Han Shi in the first round of the Wuhan Open last week.
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The Filipina star began the Ningbo Open as the world No 20, but she currently sits 18th in the Live WTA Rankings on 2,241 points following her opening round win.
Belinda Bencic, who is the defending champion in Ningbo, has dropped from 14th to 19th, while Amanda Anisimova has fallen from 18th to 22nd.
Eala first reached her career-high ranking position of world No 18 in August — shortly after she won her maiden WTA Tour title at the Washington Open.
If Eala wins her next match in Ningbo, she will increase her points total to 2,289, which could see her climb to a projected new milestone of 17th in the Live Rankings.
This may not be a straightforward task, though, as Eala will have to overcome world No 13 Diana Shnaider in the second round on Thursday.
Shnaider defeated Yulia Putintseva 7-5, 7-6(4) in a tough opening round match on Tuesday.
It will be Eala’s first meeting with Shnaider — a 22-year-old Russian star who was a semi-finalist at this year’s French Open.
Shnaider is a winner of five WTA Tour titles, and she reached her career-high ranking of 11th in June last year.
If Eala can beat Shnaider, she will play either Iva Jovic or Jasmine Paolini in the quarter-finals.
The 21-year-old can finish the week with 2,681 points if she wins the title in Ningbo — which could see her soar as high as 13th in the rankings.
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