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MANILA, Philippines — As the fictional Rod Tidwell said in 1996 sports film “Jerry Maguire”: “Show me the money!”
Despite being shown the door from the 2026 Indian Wells Open, Alex Eala is millions of pesos richer and holds a new career-best in rankings.
The Filipina made her debut in Indian Wells, reaching the Round of 16.
But there, she fell against Czechia’s Linda Noskova, 6-2, 6-0, to bow out of the tourney.
So, what’s in it for Eala now?
Following her exit in the tournament widely known as the “fifth Grand Slam”, Eala is bringing home $105,720, or about P6.3 million.
She also earned 120 ranking points, which flung her to a new career-high of World No. 28.
Prior to this new ranking, the highest ranking for Eala was 31st.
After getting a bye in the first round, she defeated Dayana Yastremska in three sets, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5.
In the next round, the Filipina had the opportunity to avenge her huge loss against Coco Gauff last month. But in their third-round tussle, Gauff had to beg off from finishing the match due to an injury.
And against Noskova, the World No. 14 simply overpowered Eala as the 20-year-old pride of the Philippines continued her struggles against tennisters from Czechia.
Up next for Eala is the Miami Open.
Last year, the Filipina put the whole world on notice in the tournament after grabbing huge wins that flung her to the top 100 of the rankings.
After stunners against Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek, she fell in the semifinals against Jessica Pegula.
Now, Eala is expected to make some noise as a seeded entrant.
The stakes are high as well for Eala. She will have to defend her ranking points in Miami.
The points she earned in Miami, which led her to skyrocket through the ranks, will drop off as they “expire” after 52 weeks. She bagged 390 points last year, and anything less than a semifinal berth this year, she will see a drastic drop in rankings.
According to the WTA website, those booted out of the first round will have 10 points; the second round, 25; the third round, 65; the fourth round, 120; the quarterfinal, 215; the semifinal, 390; the finalist, 650; and the champion will have 1,000 points.
The Miami Open will fire off next week. — Ralph Edwin Villanueva
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Credit belongs to: www.philstar.com
