The prestigious WTA tournament that no longer exists which Alex Eala would have been part of this year

Alex Eala could have had another tournament on her schedule this year if a WTA event still existed.

Eala has enjoyed the best season of her career in 2026, having won her first WTA title in Washington D.C., reached the fourth round of Wimbledon and broken into the top 20 for the first time.

Despite her success, Eala has been unable to qualify for the WTA Finals this year, where the top eight players from the year qualify.

However, Eala would have gained entry into another exclusive event which has not existed since it was removed after the 2023 edition.

Alex Eala would have been part of the WTA Elite Trophy if it existed this year

The WTA Elite Trophy was once an annual event on the WTA calendar that included the ninth to 19th best players from the year, as well as a wildcard chosen by the tournament which was held in Zhuhai, China for the six years of its existence.

These 12 players would be split into four round-robin groups of three, with the winners of these groups reaching the semi-finals.

If the WTA Elite Trophy was held this year, some of the players that would be included in the field based purely on their position in the race right now would be Iga Swiatek, Iva Jovic, Naomi Osaka and Eala.

• 9. Iga Swiatek
• 10. Marta Kostyuk
• 11. Iva Jovic
• 12. Maja Chwalinska
• 13. Diana Shnaider
• 14. Elise Mertens
• 15. Victoria Mboko
• 16. Sorana Cirstea
• 17. Naomi Osaka
• 18. Belinda Bencic
• 19. Alex Eala

Eala is currently 19th in the race, which is the last position that would have been able to qualify for the WTA Elite Trophy if it was still an active tournament.

This is a remarkable achievement for Eala, especially given that she was ranked outside the top 50 at the start of the year and was ranked as low as world number 140 back in 2025.

Former champions of the WTA Elite Trophy

If the WTA Elite Trophy was to be held this year then it would feature some big names, in keeping with some of the previous champions at the tournament.

This includes the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Venus Williams and Ash Barty, all of whom have won the WTA Elite Trophy in their careers.

After four years without the event due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the WTA Elite Trophy returned in 2023, as Beatriz Haddad Maia won the title after beating Qinwen Zheng in the final.

The WTA Elite Trophy was removed from the schedule the following year, and there does not appear to be any talks of bringing it back anytime soon.