MANILA, Philippines — Filipino ace Alex Eala emerged as rank No. 6 among players aged under 23 in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) 2026 season. Eala, who ended the season with a career-best No. 15 overall, finished the year with 2,392 points. The 21-year-old Eala finished behind 19-year-old Mirra Andreeva, 22-year-old Coco Gauff, 22-year-old Linda Noskova, 22-year-old Diana Shnaider, and 18-year-old Iva Jovic. World No. 3 Andreeva led the U23 group with 6,306 points. The Russian player will even finish the season as world No. 2 after reaching the final of the WTA Finals. World No. 4 Gauff (5,763), No. 8 Noskova (4,343), No. 11 Diana Shnaider (3,238) and No. 13 Jovic (2,941) rounded out the top 5 WTA U23 players for the 2026 season. Eala anchored her best year yet with her first main Tour title at the 500 D.C. Open, becoming the first Philippine player to win a WTA tile last August. A few weeks earlier in July, Eala became the first Filipino to reach the Wimbledon fourth round after dethroning Iga Swiatek, 7-6(9), 6-2. Eala also seized her second 125-tier title at the Birmingham Open last June. In the same month, the lefty netter reached the 500 Berlin Open semifinal. A quarterfinal finish at the 1000 Dubai Open and a round of 16 appearance in other 1000 events like Toronto, Miami, and Indian Wells contributed substantially to Eala's top 15 finish. Eala just wrapped her season with a runner-up finish at the 250 Hong Kong Open last week. The Philippine tennis trailblazer Alexandra "Alex" Eala will begin her WTA 2027 season with a return to the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. The 250-tier tournament will run from January 4 to 10. Last year, Eala reached the semifinals of both the singles and doubles (with Jovic) of the tournament.