Alexandra Eala continued a steady climb up the WTA rankings this week, moving from No. 32 to a career-high No. 29 after advancing to the fourth round at Indian Wells.

The 20-year-old cemented more history for Philippine tennis. Almost a year ago she became the first player from the Philippines to reach the WTA Top 100 following her breakthrough run to the semifinals in Miami. Since then she has advanced into the Top 50 late last year, entered the Top 40 earlier this season and reached No. 31 a few weeks ago.

Eala’s results over the past year show growing consistency at WTA level. This stretch includes six appearances at WTA events that ended in a quarterfinal or better: one final (Eastbourne last year), two semifinals (Miami last year and Auckland this year) and three quarterfinals (Sao Paulo last year and Abu Dhabi and Dubai this year). She has also collected her first seven wins over Top 30 players in the last year, including her first four Top 10 victories. A year ago on this day she was ranked No. 140.

Other movement on the WTA list came after Indian Wells. Elena Rybakina rose from No. 3 to a new career-high of No. 2 following her run to the final; she had already clinched that rise by reaching the semifinals. Victoria Mboko moved from No. 10 to a new high of No. 9 after reaching the quarterfinals in her tournament debut. Cristina Bucsa climbed one spot to No. 30 for her Top 30 debut after having soared to No. 31 two weeks earlier following a WTA 500 title in Merida, Mexico.

The tournament produced another breakthrough in Talia Gibson, who made her Top 100 debut, jumping from No. 112 to No. 68 after reaching her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal and her first WTA quarterfinal overall. Gibson had never beaten a Top 50 player before the event but defeated four en route to the final eight, including her first Top 10 win against Jasmine Paolini.

On the ATP side, Daniil Medvedev returned to the Top 10, moving from No. 11 to No. 10 after reaching the Indian Wells final. Luciano Darderi rose from No. 21 to No. 18 for his Top 20 debut, creating four Italians inside the ATP Top 20 alongside No. 2 Jannik Sinner, No. 5 Lorenzo Musetti and No. 14 Flavio Cobolli.

Both Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner entered Indian Wells with something missing from their resumes: a title in the desert and a first trophy of 2026. Each arrived under scrutiny after painful losses in Melbourne and left with answers.

Sabalenka had been No. 1 for 81 weeks and sat far ahead in the rankings, but a string of final-round setbacks had lingered after the Australian Open loss to Elena Rybakina. The situation was similar for Sinner, who had been ranked one or two since mid-2024 and had come through Melbourne with his own tough moments. “I’m so done losing these big finals. Aryna Sabalenka”

Both players praised Indian Wells on arrival. Sabalenka said she was “super happy to be back in Tennis Paradise, it’s super beautiful.” Sinner called it a “special place,” and said his “preparation is going really well.” The faster courts suited their aggressive games; neither dropped a set on the run to the final, and both sounded determined to take the trophy. “I want to make sure that I get it, I get the trophy,” Sabalenka said. “You know, I’m so done losing these big finals.” “We tried to come here very early,” Sinner said. “I knew that this was a tournament I haven’t won, so I wanted to come here and prepare it in the best possible way, as professional as possible.”

Sabalenka needed that resolve in a three-hour final with Rybakina. She fought back from an early break and a set down, found momentum after a smashed racquet, and closed the decider in a tiebreak with a final unreturnable serve. “I’m super happy that in those last three points of the match, I was able to pull out really great tennis and get the win,” Sabalenka said. “With so many finals that I’ve lost, they also teach me a lot of things that basically the game is never done till it’s done,” she added. “So if it’s a match point, you still have a chance to get back into the game.”

Sinner endured blistering heat — temperatures near 97 — in a tight match with Daniil Medvedev. The two played without a break for two hours and 24 games, and Sinner edged both tiebreaks. “Well done,” said his impressed coach, Darren Cahill, before Sinner closed the set with a service winner. “It feels amazing,” Sinner said. “Great achievement.” “I felt very well prepared, so I was not having big issues with the weather and with the heat, which is very positive for me. But look, it’s all part of the process we are trying to do and becoming the best possible athlete.”

Aryna Sabalenka allowed herself a few indulgences after a dramatic BNP Paribas Open final. She saved a championship point and prevailed over Elena Rybakina in a final-set tiebreaker, recording her first triumph over Rybakina in their last five final matches.

Celebration moments were low-key and personal. She gave her puppy, Ash, an ice bath and shared a kiss with her new fiancé, Georgios Frangulis. With a quick turnaround to the next event, Sabalenka said she would still make room for a modest party on her flight across the country to compete in Miami.

Q. You’re flying out tonight. What does the celebration on the plane look like for you?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Well, I guess a couple espresso martinis, probably, and Five Guys to go. Basically, that’s why I’m never in good shape, because it’s Five Guys and espresso martinis in celebration (laughing).

The title in Indian Wells was one she described as a tournament she would remember “for the rest of her life,” and she immediately shifted focus toward the challenge of completing back-to-back wins at Indian Wells and Miami.

“The schedule is really tight and we’re on to the next one, and I cannot relax too much, because I’m defending champion there, and also, it’s Miami. I love being there, playing there, so I want to do well there, as well,” she said.

A year earlier she defeated Jessica Pegula to lift the same trophy in the city where she keeps a residence. Now, refreshed by the title and a short celebration, Sabalenka departs aiming to become the fifth woman of the Open Era to complete the Sunshine Double by winning Indian Wells and Miami in succession.