Alex Eala will be keeping a close eye on two players as they continue in the US Open.
Alex Eala will be keeping a close eye on two players for the rest of the US Open as she aims to hold onto her spot in the WTA singles rankings.
Eala was knocked out in the third round by her good friend Iva Jovic, who beat her 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 on Saturday night.
Even though she lost, her ranking didn’t change much since she only made it to the second round last year. She dropped just five points, while other players nearby lost a lot more. That means only two players left in the tournament have a chance to pass her in the rankings.
Before the US Open, Eala was ranked a career-high 18th after winning her first WTA title at the Washington Open in August. She also made it to the third round of the Canadian Open.
For the US Open, she was seeded 17th, moving up a spot after Victoria Mboko withdrew because of a knee injury.
Now, Eala’s focus is on two players: Emma Navarro from the US and Qinwen Zheng from China, both of whom could take her spot if they do well.
Navarro, whose parents are worth around $3.2 billion, is ranked 24th in the world. She has already beaten two seeded players – Karolina Muchova and Anna Kalinskaya – to reach the quarter-finals.
Zheng, popular with Asian tennis fans, was the Australian Open finalist in 2024 but hadn’t won any Grand Slam matches this year until now because she missed the Australian Open due to injury. She beat 2025 Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek in the fourth round to reach the quarter-finals.
Zheng would need to win the whole tournament to pass Eala, which would give her 2,653 points compared to Eala’s 2,276. Navarro can move ahead if she wins her quarter-final match, reaching 2,374 points. Navarro will play world number three Jessica Pegula at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday night.
Eala earned her spot in the third round by beating Mary Stoiana and Oleksandra Oliynykova. If she had made it to the fourth round, she could have faced Coco Gauff, a two-time US Open champ who defeated Jovic easily.
Eala had only lost eight games in her first two matches but found Jovic, ranked 14th, a much tougher challenge.
Still, there are plenty of positive takeaways for Eala from the US Open. She won two matches and lost just five ranking points. For comparison, world number 11 Amanda Anisimova lost 1,170 points after her third-round loss to Anastasia Potapova because she was a finalist last year.
After her loss, Eala shared her thoughts in a press conference:
“With everything I’ve experienced this year, I’ve been in so many new situations. I’ve had a lot of firsts, and from those come many lessons. I’m learning about myself, how to handle tough moments, and how my choices affect not just tennis, but life too.
“What I learned tonight is still sinking in, but I know one thing – I gave it my all. I fought through the ups and downs, even when I wasn’t playing my best. What matters is that I fought hard, and that makes me happy.”