MANILA, Philippines — Four.
That is the number of wins Alexandra "Alex" Eala needs to defend her 390 ranking points at the WTA 1000 Miami Open which runs from March 15 to 29.
The tournament follows the BNP Paribas Open where Eala reached the round of 16, falling to Linda Noskova last Wednesday, 2-6, 0-6.
Four successive wins will send the 32nd seed Eala to the semifinals, matching her finish last year as a wildcard entrant and retaining her 390 points.
Falling one win short, which means a quarterfinal finish, would hurt Eala’s ranking.
Eala, who receives a first-round bye as a seeded player just like at the Indian Wells, sits in 32nd place with 1,432 points in the WTA official rankings.
In the live rankings, which will be reflected in the official ones on Monday, Eala boasts 1,542 points for a new career-best 28th place.