Alexandra Eala featured as projected No. 3 seed for the Singapore Tennis Open 2026.

Singapore Tennis Open 2026 Seedings: Eala Rises as the Stories Take Shape

The Singapore Tennis Open 2026 seedings are taking on a very different shape after Jessica Pegula withdrew from the WTA 500 event, moving Mirra Andreeva into the top position and Alexandra Eala into a projected No. 3 seed.

Pegula had been expected to lead the field in Singapore. Instead, her withdrawal following a demanding North American hard-court swing reshuffles the tournament before the first ball is struck.

Andreeva moves into the projected No. 1 position, Amanda Anisimova follows at No. 2, while Eala is projected to rise to No. 3.

For Tennis Roundup, however, the numbers are only the beginning.

The seedings give us our first clues about what Singapore might become.

Here are the stories we’ll be following.

Singapore Tennis Open 2026 Seedings Shift After Pegula Withdrawal

Pegula’s withdrawal removes the player originally expected to be Singapore’s top seed.

The American reached the US Open semifinals after a North American hard-court stretch that also included finals in Washington and Cincinnati and a Round of 16 appearance in Toronto.

Her absence promotes Mirra Andreeva to the projected No. 1 seed.

Amanda Anisimova is expected to occupy the No. 2 position, with Alexandra Eala moving into the projected No. 3 spot.

The complete seedings remain subject to confirmation, but the change already alters the hierarchy of the tournament.

And for Eala in particular, it changes the story.

Topic Seed 1: Eala Is No Longer the Outsider

For much of Alexandra Eala’s rise, the most compelling question was whether she could upset someone ranked above her.

Singapore may ask something different.

What happens when Eala is one of the players expected to win?

The Filipina enters the week at World No. 18 after a breakthrough season that transformed her position on Tour.

She won her first WTA singles title in Washington, defeating Pegula in a three-set final, and later reached the third round of the US Open before falling to Iva Jovic after a three-hour battle.

Now Eala arrives in Southeast Asia projected to be among Singapore’s highest seeds.

In a 28-player draw, the top four seeds receive first-round byes. If Eala’s projected No. 3 position is confirmed, she will begin directly in the second round and need four victories rather than five to win the title.

That’s an advantage.

It also brings a different kind of pressure.

Eala will no longer simply be the dangerous player across the net from an established favorite.

This time, she may be the favorite.

Story question: Can Eala turn her breakthrough season into a deep run when the expectations have changed?

Topic Seed 2: Singapore Has a New Tournament Hierarchy

Pegula’s withdrawal doesn’t only affect Eala.

It removes the player originally expected to sit at the top of the draw.

Now Mirra Andreeva inherits that position.

Andreeva arrives as one of the highest-ranked players in the field and will carry the expectations attached to being Singapore’s projected No. 1 seed.

Anisimova moves immediately behind her.

Then comes Eala.

That gives Singapore a new leading trio before the draw has even been made.

And there is another established threat waiting behind them.

Elise Mertens returns as defending champion after winning Singapore when it was still a WTA 250 event in 2025.

She now has the opportunity to defend the same trophy against a stronger WTA 500 field.

Story question: Will one of Singapore’s new leading seeds control the tournament, or will someone outside that group break through?

Topic Seed 3: Eala’s Last WTA Stop Before Nagoya

Singapore also occupies an unusual place in Eala’s schedule.

After this tournament, her road is expected to lead not to Beijing with much of the WTA field, but to Aichi-Nagoya for the Asian Games, where she intends to represent the Philippines.

The Philippine Tennis Association has requested an exemption from the WTA because the Asian Games overlap with the mandatory WTA 1000 China Open.

Eala’s intention, however, has been made clear.

She plans to play for the Philippines in Nagoya.

That makes Singapore her final WTA stop before changing from Tour competition to national-team duty.

The Asian Games happen only once every four years.

Singapore therefore becomes more than another week on Eala’s ranking calendar.

It’s the final chapter before she puts the Philippine flag at the center of the story.

Story question: What kind of momentum can Eala carry from Singapore into the Asian Games?

Topic Seed 4: Alex and Leylah Give Filipino Fans Two Reasons to Watch

Pegula may be leaving Singapore, but another familiar name has entered.

Leylah Fernandez has accepted a wild card into the singles main draw.

For Filipino tennis followers, that gives Singapore an interesting combination.

Eala represents the Philippines directly.

Fernandez represents Canada, but her Filipino heritage has long given Philippine fans another connection to follow on the international tennis stage.

We’ve called their connection Connected by Roots before.

Now those roots meet again in Singapore.

They won’t necessarily meet across the net. The draw will decide whether that’s even possible.

But their presence in the same WTA 500 gives Filipino followers two familiar stories to watch as the Asian swing begins.

Story question: How far can Eala and Fernandez carry their respective Singapore campaigns?

Topic Seed 5: Southeast Asia Gets Its Own Measuring Stick

Eala isn’t Singapore’s only Southeast Asian storyline.

Indonesia’s Janice Tjen is also in the field.

Tjen and Eala were the two Southeast Asian players originally granted direct entry into the tournament, giving the region representation in its only WTA 500 event.

Their circumstances have since created an intriguing contrast.

Eala is heading from Singapore toward the Asian Games.

Tjen withdrew from the Asian Games after being unable to secure the exemption required to miss Beijing.

One heads toward national-team competition.

The other continues along the WTA calendar.

But first, both compete in Singapore.

For fans across the region — and especially Filipino followers who enjoy seeing how their players measure up against neighboring Asian rivals — Singapore becomes a useful measuring stick.

China’s Wang Xinyu is also among the Asian players currently listed in the main field, while qualifying brings further Asian representation and the possibility of more names reaching the main draw.

Story question: Which Asian player will make the deepest run in Singapore?

Topic Seed 6: Can Mertens Defend a Bigger Crown?

Elise Mertens already knows what it feels like to win in Singapore.

But defending her title in 2026 presents a different challenge.

Mertens won the tournament when Singapore returned to the WTA Tour as a WTA 250 event.

This year it has been elevated to WTA 500 status.

More ranking points.

A stronger field.

Greater expectations.

Same defending champion.

That makes Mertens one of the most interesting measuring points for how much Singapore itself has changed in only one year.

Story question: Can the champion of Singapore’s WTA 250 era become the first champion of its WTA 500 era?

One Story Has Already Disappeared

There was another storyline we expected to follow.

Eala versus Pegula.

Their Washington final gave Singapore the possibility of a rematch between two players originally expected to occupy leading positions in the field.

Pegula’s withdrawal closes that door.

At least for this week.

And that’s a useful reminder before Singapore begins.

Not every story we expect will survive the tournament.

Some disappear before Day 1.

Some end in the opening rounds.

Others emerge from players we weren’t discussing at all.

That’s why these are Topic Seeds, not predictions.

They’re the stories we’re carrying into Singapore.

The tennis gets to decide what happens to them.

What Comes Next

The final draw will reveal the actual paths through the tournament — who lands in whose quarter, which dangerous opponents await the leading seeds and where potential meetings could happen.

We’ll cover that development when the draw is released.

Then the matches begin.

From Day 1 onward, Tennis Roundup won’t simply ask who won and who lost.

We’ll come back to these stories.

Did Eala handle the expectations of becoming one of the tournament favorites?

Did Andreeva control the field as the new No. 1?

How did Asia’s players fare on the region’s biggest WTA stage?

Can Mertens defend her crown?

And which story that nobody saw coming becomes the one we’re talking about by Sunday?

The Singapore Tennis Open 2026 seedings have given us the starting point.

Now the tournament gets to rewrite the story.