MANILA, Philippines – Just like at the Indian Wells Open, Alex Eala will receive a first-round bye in his return to the Miami Open, a tournament that marked a turning point in his career.
That’s an advantage as one of the 32 players who have borne fruit, Eala is currently ranked No. 32 in the world and is expected to rise to No. 28 when the new WTA rankings are released on Monday, March 16, after reaching the round of 16 in Indian Wells.
But the Filipino tennis star is in danger of losing the game as he needs to go on another run in Miami to protect the points he earned from his semi-final appearance in 2025 or face a major drop in the rankings.
The standards were explained
Following a 52-week ranking system, the WTA determines singles rankings based on the results of a maximum of 18 tournaments, or 19 for those participating in the season-ending WTA Finals.
The 18 tournaments include four Grand Slams (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon Championships, and US Open), best results from six 1000-level events (Indian Wells and Miami, for example), best results from the 1000th WTA event alone (Qatar Open, Dubai Tennis Championships, and Wuhan Open), and best results from seven other events.
The Grand Slam awards the most points, with the champion and finalist earning 2,000 and 1,300 points, respectively.
In 1000-level events such as Indian Wells and Miami, the distribution of points is as follows: 1,000 for winning the title, 650 for reaching the final, 390 for the semi-final, 215 for the quarter-final, 120 for the round of 16, 65 for the 32nd round, 104 for the 108th round, 35 for the 12th round.
When the WTA updates its rankings on Monday, Eala is expected to rise to number 28, after gaining 120 points to enter the round of 16 in Indian Wells, although her place in the world’s top 30 is at risk if she fails to defend the 390 points she earned from Miami in 2025, which currently holds 4 points.
As the 32nd team in Miami this year, Eala advances directly to the 64th stage and will get 65 points if it wins its opening match and advances to the 32nd stage.
However, she will be at a huge disadvantage if she gets out of the round of 64, as the WTA rulebook states that players who receive a bye and lose their first match will be awarded first-round loser points, which are 10 points for the round of 128.
In that case, Eala will lose 380 points and face the possibility of slipping out of the top 50, so every victory is important to avoid relegation.
In fact, the best result for Eala is the championship, which means an additional 610 points that will move them into the top 20.
Miami Magic
Eala has proven she can be as dangerous as any of the best players in the world, with her campaign in Miami in 2025 seeing her pull off a series of upsets against the Grand Slam champions. Iga Swiatek of Poland, Madison Keys of the United States, and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia.
Then ranked 140th in the world, Eala first stunned 2017 French Open winner Ostapenko in the round of 64, then stunned Australian Open 2025 titleholder Keys in the round of 32, before claiming her most famous victim when she stunned six-time champion and former world No. 1 Swiatek in the quarter-finals.
Eala eventually lost in the semi-finals to the current world no.5 Jessica Pegula of the United States, but that Cinderella run in Miami catapulted the Filipino to new heights as he broke into the world’s top 100 for the first time, which qualified him for direct entry into the main draw of the Grand Slams.
20-year-old Eala has developed his murderous ways in the year 2026.
En route to the quarterfinals in Dubai, Eala beat the current world no.7 Jasmine Paolini of Italy in stage 32 for his first top-10 win of the year.
In Indian Wells, Eala was the reigning current world No. 4 Coco Gauff in their match of the 32nd stage, 6-2, 2-0, when the two-time Grand Slam champion retired due to injury.
“Miami last year was a great time for me, and it was the beginning of all this, but since then, I’ve had a lot of success as well,” Eala said. a story on the Indian Wells Open website.
“I’ve grown a lot, and I’ve had a lot of good matches, a lot of losses, a lot of experience since then. And that’s helped me build my confidence, my self-esteem, and I know that I belong here.”
While the pressure is on for Eala to weave the same magic in Miami, he is undaunted by any possible outcome, knowing he has proven he deserves his place on the tour.
“It doesn’t matter if I win the tournament in Miami or if I lose in the first round, I know I’m here, and I’m here to stay.” – Rappler.com
