Alex Eala drops to 45th at WTA official rankings

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala fell from a career-best No. 29 to No. 45 at the latest Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings on Monday.

The 16-notch drop, the biggest fall for any player in this latest rankings update, came after Eala's round of 16 exit at the WTA 1000 Miami Open last week.

Eala yielded to Czech Karolina Muchova, 0-6, 2-6, on March 24.

The round of 16 finish gained Eala only 120 points, 270 short of the 390 points she earned in her historic semifinal run in the tournament last year.

Eala's total ranking points thus dropped from 1,525 to 1,255, enabling many players to rise above her.

Defending her Miami Open crown, Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka still leads the rankings with 11,025 points.

Kazakh Elena Rybakina ranks second with 8,108 points followed by American Coco Gauff with 7,278.

Polish Iga Swiatek (7,263) and American Jessica Pegula (6,243) round out the top five players in the rankings.

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