Alexandra Eala moved to a new career-high of No. 31 in the WTA rankings after her run to the quarterfinals at the WTA 1000 event in Dubai. The 20-year-old rose from No. 47 and recorded her third Top 10 victory, defeating Jasmine Paolini, before bowing out to Coco Gauff.

Eala surpassed the career-best No. 40 she set two weeks earlier following a quarterfinal appearance in Abu Dhabi. She remains the only woman from the Philippines to reach the WTA Top 100 since the rankings began in 1975 and now stands on the edge of the Top 30 after climbing more than 100 places in the last year.

A year ago she was ranked No. 139, and she entered the 2025 Miami Open at No. 140. Her breakthrough semifinal run at that WTA 1000 event produced her first two Top 10 wins, over Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek, and pushed her to No. 75 for a historic Top 100 debut. She then moved into the Top 50 last November and into the Top 40 after Abu Dhabi, and this Dubai result continues that upward momentum.

The powerful left-hander has reached the quarterfinals or better at WTA events six times over the past 11 months. The first three deep runs came last year: semifinals in Miami (WTA 1000), the final at Eastbourne (WTA 250) and a quarterfinal at Sao Paulo (WTA 250). This season has already produced three more: a semifinal in Auckland (WTA 250), a quarterfinal in Abu Dhabi (WTA 500) and now the quarterfinal in Dubai (WTA 1000).

After her victory over Paolini in Dubai last week, Eala talked about the things she’s learned since she burst into prominence in Miami.

“As the Miami anniversary comes up, I would be coming up on one year of full, really full, just, WTA tournaments. I think that comes with a lot of learnings, a lot of maturity. Especially this past year, 2026, has brought me a lot of love and attention from the fans. It comes with its set of struggles and set of sacrifices, but I think in the end I need to remind myself this is what I’ve been working my whole life for. How many people would love to be in my position? I make it a point every day to really give my all and be grateful for what I have.”

She was then asked about her many, many, many fans. “I saw the stadium was really full. I looked up and there were Filipinos for days!” she described. “It’s really such a blessing to be able to play in those sorts of atmospheres. I am really privileged and thankful that I’m able to introduce kind of this new world, or new sporting world, women’s tennis, to a new demographic. I think they’re really enjoying it. I hope that it would inspire people to take up racquets, young girls and women of all ages to take up sports.”

Janice Tjen climbed into the WTA Top 40 on Monday, moving from No. 46 to No. 36 after reaching the round of 16 at the Dubai WTA 1000 event. The 23-year-old is the first Indonesian woman to sit inside the Top 40 since Yayuk Basuki was No. 35 during the two weeks of the 1998 US Open, the weeks of August 31 and September 7.

Three weeks earlier Tjen had marked her Top 50 debut, rising from No. 59 to No. 47 after a second-round showing at the Australian Open. Her progression this season has been steep. On this day a year ago, Tjen was ranked No. 391. She only just started playing at tour-level at the end of last summer.

Tjen made her first tour-level main draw at the US Open, where she reached the second round. In the weeks that followed she reached her first WTA final in Sao Paulo and then captured her first WTA title in Chennai. Last week she reached the round of 16 at a WTA 1000 event in Dubai for the first time in her career, eventually falling to Amanda Anisimova.

Those results have included wins over established opponents. She already has four career victories against Top 30 players: No. 25 Veronika Kudermetova at last year’s US Open; No. 23 Leylah Fernandez at the Australian Open; a No. 29-ranked Maya Joint in Abu Dhabi; and the No. 29-ranked Fernandez again in Dubai. If those wins are a guide, further climbs up the rankings may follow.

Tjen is back in competition this week at the WTA 500 event in Merida, where she is the No. 6 seed. She will meet former Top 40 player Camila Osorio in a first-time meeting in the first round.

The third week of February delivered a clear uptick in intensity across three different events, setting the tone for the stretch that begins with Indian Wells. In Doha, Carlos Alcaraz produced one of his most commanding performances; in Dubai, Jessica Pegula found a cleaner, more efficient version of her game; and in Delray Beach, Sebastian Korda navigated extreme wind to claim a title.

Alcaraz dismantled Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-1 in a 50-minute final, during which Fils managed only five points on Alcaraz’s serve. “I played great. I played amazing,” Alcaraz said after the match, adding, “I played really aggressively, and I didn’t do any mistakes at all. I was serving well, returning well.” The champion finished with 19 winners, nine errors, and was five for five at the net; he won 28 of 33 service points and improved to 12-0 on the season.

Jessica Pegula’s week in Dubai reinforced the value of a straightforward, timing-based game. A former player and commentator likened her style to a school of modernist design: direct, unfussy and focused on efficiency. “She has maybe the best timing in the world.” Pegula recovered from a lopsided semifinal first set to beat Amanda Anisimova and then defeated Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-4 in the final. The title was the 10th of her career, left her 35 points behind Coco Gauff at No. 4, and pushed her to 13-2 on the year. Pegula credited work with coach Mark Knowles: “We kind of went back to emphasizing how I play tennis,” and added, “It’s not the same as maybe Aryna or an Iga or Coco or whoever. I like to take the ball early. I like to work on my timing.”

In Delray Beach, swirling wind shaped the final between Sebastian Korda and Tommy Paul. “I was born and raised in Florida, so I’m used to the wind, but this was extreme for sure,” Korda said. He adjusted with slices and backspin to prevail 6-4, 6-3, noting, “We were both struggling out there.” The victory was Korda’s third career title, coming in his second week with new coach Ryan Harrison, and felt like a measure of closure: “I’ve been through some stuff the last couple months, years,” he said. “I’ve lost a lot of finals. This is where I made my first ATP final, so it’s kind of like a full circle.”