Alex Eala gets No. 17 seed in Cincinnati Open field

Philippines’ Alexandra Eala gestures to the crowd during her win over United States’ Caty McNally in a National Bank Open tennis match in Toronto on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala is part of the star-studded Cincinnati Open field as the 17th seed, based on the latest player list posted by the WTA on Tuesday.

Eala, currently the world No. 20, is expected to receive a first-round bye in the main draw, which opens August 13, as one of the 32 seeded players.

READ: Alex Eala leaves Toronto and sets focus on US swing

Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva comprise the top five seeds of the WTA 1000 tournament, a major warm-up for the US Open.

Iga Swiatek, the defending champion, is seeded seventh behind Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova at No. 6. Elina Svitolina, Amanda Anisimova and Marta Kostyuk round out the top 10.

READ: Alex Eala eyes much-needed me time ahead of Cincinnati Open

Eala just wrapped up her Canadian Open campaign in Toronto, where she reached the Round of 16 before losing to Belinda Bencic.

It had been a grueling two weeks for the Filipino tennis star, who won seven straight matches following her title run at the Mubadala DC Open.

Eala is taking a brief break before returning to action, with her sights set on a deep run in her final Grand Slam tournament of the season later this month in New York.

“I’m taking the lessons that I’ve had from these two weeks and hopefully implementing them even more in a better way in Cincinnati and New York,” she said.