Alex Eala is projected to reach a new milestone in the WTA Rankings following her third round loss to Amanda Anisimova at the 2026 Cincinnati Open.

The Filipina icon fell to a 6-4, 4-6, 2-6 defeat to ninth seed Anisimova in a hard-fought last 32 contest at the WTA 1000 tournament in Mason, Ohio.

It was Eala‘s first-ever encounter with world No 10 Anisimova — a 24-year-old American who is a two-time finalist at Grand Slams.

Eala was seeded 17th in Cincinnati, where she was making her debut, and she downed Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the second round after a first round bye.

The 21-year-old holds an impressive 8-2 record during the North American summer hard-court season so far.

The Quezon City-born star won five matches at the Washington Open during a stellar run to her maiden WTA Tour title.

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Eala then extended her win streak to seven matches with two victories at the Canadian Open before she lost to Belinda Bencic in the last 16.

Alex Eala’s WTA ranking

Eala started the Cincinnati Open at a career-high ranking of world No 20 following her impressive results in Washington DC and Toronto.

By winning her second round match in Cincinnati, Eala has collected 65 ranking points, which has taken her points total to 2,281.

This has seen Eala climb two places to 18th in the Live WTA Rankings — which would be a new landmark position.

Eala could, though, still be overtaken by players who are below her in the Live Rankings and still competing in Cincinnati.

What Alex Eala said would make a ‘successful’ Cincinnati Open

In her pre-tournament press conference in Cincinnati, Eala was asked what she would consider a successful tournament.

“I think it’s just the level that I play,” Eala replied. “And of course, the more matches, the merrier, right?

“But it’s the matches of substance, and it’s the ones that… did I execute what I want to execute? Did I bring the level that I wanted to bring?

“So, if I lose first round, but it’s a really good match, not to say that it’s a successful week, but it wasn’t a bad one. And if I reach the final, then I’ll take that too (laughs).”

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