Eala at No. 32 before Indian Wells

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala slipped in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings ahead of her highly-anticipated debut in the Indian Wells Open (BNP Paribas)in California this weekend, where she is among the seeded players.

From soaring to a career-best ranking of No. 31 last week on the heels of a stellar run in Dubai, Eala dropped to No. 32 after a week-long break as the WTA Tour shifts from the Middle East to the United States.

The 20-year-old Filipina reached a new high after a Last 8 finish in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, marked by a stunning win against WTA No. 8 Jasmine Paolini of Italy.

A slide, however, should not hinder Eala’s confidence amid a fast-growing popularity this year, packing stadiums from Manila, Auckland and Melbourne to Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai.

And she can expect the same – or even bigger – support in California that boasts the largest population of Filipinos in the United States.

Before flying to California, the lefty ace dropped by at the Nike World Headquarters in Oregon, where she was feted with a hero’s welcome as one of the sneaker brand’s global ambassadors.

At the Indian Wells, Eala marches as one of the top guns, seeded at No. 31 for a first-round bye in the main draw that gets going this Saturday.

She will face one of the winners from the qualifying round, which will start today to complete the stacked 96-player main draw bannered by world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Russia, No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland and No. 3 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan.

Reigning champion Mirra Andreeva of Russia (No. 8), who stunned Sabalenka in the Indian Wells final last year, is also in the fray alongside the American pair of Coco Gauff (No. 4) and Jessica Pegula (No.5), who ruled the Dubai tilt.

Should Eala dodge an upset from a qualifier, she would clash with either Dayana Yamstremska of Ukraine (No. 52) or Shuai Zhang of China (No. 62) in Round 2.