FOR the first time in two months, Alexandra “Alex” Eala slid in the world rankings ahead of her much-anticipated WTA Tour return.
From a career-best ranking of No. 18 since August, Ms. Eala tripped one spot with 2,241 points in the latest WTA rankings on Monday after an early exit in the Singapore Open and an absence in the just-concluded China Open.
Ms. Eala, who had a Round of 16 exit in the 500-level Singapore joust as the No. 3 seed, skipped the 1000-level Beijing tilt to prioritize playing for the Philippines in the 20th Asian Games (Asiad), where she settled for bronze as the No. 1 seed and heavy title favorite.
Lost in that gamble was lucrative ranking points but the 21-year-old Filipina pride could have retained her spot at No. 18 if not for Belgian ace Elise Mertens’ breakthrough in the China Open.
Ms. Mertens made it to the Final Four in Beijing with now 2,540 points, jumping from No. 19 to No. 14 to pull Ms. Eala down to her previous spot.
Kazakhstan’ Elena Rybakina and Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka stay at 1-2 as China Open runner-up Mirra Andreeva of Russia becomes the new world No. 3 from No. 5, surpassing Jessica Pegula (No. 4) and Coco Gauff (No. 5) of the United States.
Home bet Zheng Qinwen is the biggest riser in the circuit, jumping from No. 54 to No. 23 after ruling the China Open over Ms. Andreeva. Ms. Qinwen, who beat Ms. Eala in the Hangzhou semis, is the reigning champion in the Asiad but opted to play in Beijing.
Ms. Eala last August, after a solid North American swing campaigned marked by her first WTA Tour title in Washington, blazed history as the highest-ranked Filipino and Southeast Asian at No. 18 in the women’s pro circuit.
She erased the records of Indonesian Yayuk Basuki and Thai Tamarine Tanasugarn, who both peaked at No. 19 in 1997 and 2002, respectively.
Still in China, Ms. Eala is hoping to regain lost ground in the WTA 1000 Wuhan Open, where she as the No. 13 seed was to play against Chinese qualifier and world No. 217 Han Shi on Monday.
Ms. Eala will also strut her stuff in doubles, reuniting with close pal Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey after their Madrid team-up against Ukrainian pair of Anhelina Kalinina and Dayana Yastremska in the first round on Tuesday.
The Wuhan Open serves as the final 1000-level tourney this season before the WTA Tour Finals on Nov. 8-15 in Indian Wells featuring the Top 8 players.
As one of the most active players with no injuries, Ms. Eala had her chance by barging inside the Top 10 of the season tour rankings midway through the year but fell to No. 15 to crash out of the race ahead of the cutoff on Nov. 1.
Ms. Eala has one 125 title (Birmingham) and 500 crown (Washington) this season so far on top of solid runs in the US Open and Wimbledon with hopes of also having a magical campaign in Wuhan as part of her Asian swing. — John Bryan Ulanday