The next Alex Eala might already be here, as three exciting young players are aiming for the same WTA journey.
Alex Eala’s amazing rise in the WTA rankings in 2026 is opening doors for other young players to follow her lead next year. Eala ended 2025 ranked number 50 in the world for singles and has climbed as high as 18th after an incredible year on the court.
At just 21, she gained a lot of fans after winning her first WTA singles title at the Washington Open in August. She also scored seven wins against top-10 players and earned a bronze medal for the Philippines at the Asian Games.
Right now, Alex is playing at the Ningbo Open during the Asian Swing and will face Diana Schnaider in the last 16 on October 22. Winning a second tournament this year would be a fantastic achievement and inspire many of her competitors to aim for a similar breakout.
Here’s a look at three players under 20 who could climb the WTA rankings fast in 2027.
Kristina Liutova is set for a big breakthrough next year after a fantastic rise on the WTA Tour. Only 16, the Russian has already jumped from 714th to a career-high of 110th in 2026.
She showed she belongs here by winning the WTA 250 Memphis Classic in her first main-draw tournament back in August. This made her the first player born in the 2010s to win a WTA title and the youngest winner since Coco Gauff in 2019.
Trained at the Gorin Tennis Academy since 2020, her powerful game caught the attention of former pro Dmitry Tursunov, who helped coach world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Her US Open debut also excited fans after she battled through three tough qualifying rounds and forced former world No. 4 Qinwen Zheng to three sets in the first round.
Lilli Tagger is another young star ready to make a big jump in 2027. She’s currently ranked 45th, close to where Alex Eala was at the end of 2025, but may have even more potential.
At just 18, the Austrian won her first WTA Tour title at the Prague Open in July. She became the first player born in 2008 or later to win a tour-level trophy.
Her strong serve, heavy groundstrokes, and unique one-handed backhand have helped her pull off some big wins. On her way to the Prague title, she beat two-time Grand Slam champ Barbora Krejcikova and had her first main-draw US Open win before losing a tough three-set match.
Lilli’s experience will be a great starting point for chasing more titles and climbing even higher in the rankings next year.
Tereza Valentova has had a quick climb but faced some bumps from injuries in 2026, including a hip stress fracture. At 19, she reached as high as 42nd in the world in May and wants to break into the top 20 in 2027.
Now ranked 88th, she’s proven she can compete with top players, even pushing No. 3 Elina Svitolina to three tough sets in Cincinnati and reaching the Prague Open semi-finals.
Despite losing to Tagger recently after coming back from injury, Valentova remains confident. Plus, since she missed most of the recent Grand Slams, she has no big ranking points to defend, giving her a clear path to climb quickly next year.
These promising young players are all set to shake up the WTA rankings in 2027, inspired by Alex Eala’s fantastic success story.