Eala to finish WTA 2026 in top 15

Manila Times - Nov 8, 2026

FILIPINO tennis ace Alex Eala is set for a career-best No. 15 finish in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) 2026 season rankings. Regardless of her WTA 250 Hong Kong Open final result against Claire Liu Sunday afternoon, Eala already secured the No. 15 spot with 2,392 points. After Hong Kong, the only tournament left is the season-ended WTA Finals at Indian Wells from Nov. 8 to 15 but only the top eight players are participating so it won’t affect Eala’s ranking no matter the result. With 2,392 points as her base, last week's No. 17 Eala will eclipse No. 15 Sorana Cirstea who ended her season with 2,386 points. The live rankings Saturday night indicated that Eala can pad her total points to 2,479 with a Hong Kong championship, but that won't be enough to push her up a notch at No. 14. Current No. 14 Elise Mertens will stay at her place since she has 2,540 total points. A top 15 finish meant a 35-rank improvement for Eala who finished last year as top 50. In a fitting follow-up to her first WTA main tour, Eala went on to make a historic fourth-round finish at Wimbledon last July which is the highest for any Filipino player. Eala...

Read full article

More News

MILF vows to work with gov’t to deliver Bangsamoro peace deal in full

Nov 8, 2026

MILF vows to work with gov’t to deliver Bangsamoro peace deal in full

COTABATO CITY — The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has committed to work with the national government to fully deliver the promises of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), saying it wants more than the formal conclusion of the peace process. “For its part, the MILF does not seek merely the formal conclusion of

Family of nursing student found dead in Calapan seeks justice

Nov 8, 2026

Family of nursing student found dead in Calapan seeks justice

CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro — The family of a 20-year-old nursing student found dead in a vacant lot in Barangay Sapul here is seeking justice, vowing to continue speaking out until the truth behind her death is uncovered and those responsible are held accountable. Police said the body of the victim, identified only as “Maru,”

Rahm, McIlroy primed for Abu Dhabi title battle

Nov 8, 2026

Rahm, McIlroy primed for Abu Dhabi title battle

ABU DHABI, UAE — Jon Rahm will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Abu Dhabi Championship, with Ryder Cup teammate Rory McIlroy among the players breathing down his neck. Rahm broke out of a three-way tie for the overnight lead with a six-under 66 on Saturday, picking up five shots on the back nine, including an eagle at the 11th. "Fantastic round. Wishing I would have hit a couple better putts in the last two holes, right, just misread those two putts. But overall, obviously very good golf," said Rahm. The Spaniard is 18-under overall and a stroke clear of Tyrrell Hatton and Francesco Laporta. They began the third round level with Rahm, who is playing in his first event since leaving the rebel LIV Golf tour last month. Rahm is targeting his first win outside of LIV since triumphing at the Masters in 2023. "It would be amazing. It's been a good year so far. But to win again on the DP World Tour would be special," said Rahm. McIlroy sits two shots off the lead at Yas Links after a five-under 67, having surged with four birdies on the front nine before a double-bogey at the 10th and a dropped shot at the 17th slowed his momentum. "Encouraged, as I played some really good golf out there but also a little rueful," said McIlroy, who overshot the green on the par-four 10th hole and took a costly six. He rebounded with four straight birdies but failed to find the green out of the bunker on the par-three 17th and lost ground on Rahm. "Overall, good day. Kept myself within touching distance and I have a good shot at it tomorrow, which is all I want," said McIlroy. "I'm going to have to go out and shoot a low one, something in the mid to low 60s to get it done tomorrow, and that will be the goal." McIlroy is bidding for a fifth successive Race to Dubai title and record-equaling eighth in total. He trails Eugenio Chacarra and Patrick Reed in this season's standings. Chacarra is 10 shots off the pace in Abu Dhabi, while Reed lies on a distant one-under after three rounds.

Messi wins second MLS Golden Boot

Nov 8, 2026

Messi wins second MLS Golden Boot

MIAMI — Inter Miami's Lionel Messi won his second consecutive MLS Golden Boot award on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) after the defending champions took second place in the Eastern Conference with a wasteful 3-3 draw against Charlotte on the final day of the regular season. The Argentine superstar did not score but set up the first two goals at Miami's Nu Stadium, both from corners, to help procure his club a home-field advantage for the first two playoff rounds. Messi's 26 goals this season were enough to make him the first back-to-back MLS Golden Boot award winner. Petar Musa of Dallas was second on 22, not scoring in his club's 3-1 home victory over Colorado. Ian Fray, Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul racked up three first-half strikes for Inter Miami before Liel Abada's brace soon after the break sparked a comeback sealed by Rodolfo Aloko's late strike. Runaway overall leaders Nashville broke the all-time MLS points record for a season with a whopping 77 after beating Cincinnati 2-0. At 23-3 with eight drawn, Nashville won the East and broke the mark of 74 points set by Miami in 2024. Miami finished second in the East on 60 points as third-place New England failed to take advantage of Inter's draw with a surprise 1-0 loss at Orlando to end on 58. Messi's men will face Columbus to begin the MLS playoffs. Other East matchups send New England against Philadelphia, Charlotte against Chicago and top seed Nashville against the wild-card winner, Orlando or Cincinnati. Columbus took advantage of the Cincinnati loss with a 4-3 victory at Chicago to finish seventh and avoid the wild card round. At Miami, Messi's 14th-minute corner fell unexpectedly to Charlotte's Luca de la Torre, who spooned it up for Fray to open the scoring. Another Messi corner in the 33rd minute found Suarez wide open at the near post. The Uruguayan glanced in his header for 2-0. De Paul made it three before halftime, but Abada pulled back a goal for the visitors early and bagged a second in the 55th minute. In the 90th, Aloko bagged the equalizer, responding first to the ball as Smalls's shot ricocheted off the post. A visibly frustrated Messi hit the post in stoppage time before Aloko came inches from bagging an unlikely winner with a thunderous shot into the outside netting.

Woman found dead in Calapan was 20-year-old college student

Nov 8, 2026

Woman found dead in Calapan was 20-year-old college student

CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro — A 20-year-old college student from Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro, whose body was earlier found in a vacant lot in Barangay Sapul, Calapan City, is now being mourned by her school community as police intensify the investigation into her death. The Calapan City Police Station earlier reported that a woman’s body was

Act on environmental woes, learn from Yolanda catastrophe, says church

Nov 8, 2026

Act on environmental woes, learn from Yolanda catastrophe, says church

TACLOBAN CITY — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Borongan called on communities to take concrete action against environmental destruction and protect vulnerable populations, saying the lessons of Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) should result in greater responsibility toward the environment. In a pastoral message issued on Sunday, coinciding with the 13th anniversary of Yolanda’s

Suspected fake dentist busted in Agusan del Norte

Nov 8, 2026

Suspected fake dentist busted in Agusan del Norte

SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur — Police operatives arrested a 36-year-old woman for allegedly practicing dentistry without a license during an entrapment operation at her home in Santiago, Agusan del Norte. Brig. Gen. Rolindo Suguilon, Police Regional Office-13 (PRO-13)  director, said personnel of the Regional Intelligence Division-13 carried out the operation last Friday afternoon in

Will China’s slow and steady moon landing plan be a safer bet than the US’?

Nov 8, 2026

Will China’s slow and steady moon landing plan be a safer bet than the US’?

China’s full dress rehearsal for its crewed moon landing would be tougher on schedule but safer than Nasa’s cheaper bet on commercial landers, a US space policy analyst said after the rival powers updated their lunar plans within a week of each other. Wang Xiang, deputy chief designer of China’s crewed space programme, said in Beijing on October 31 that, before sending any astronauts, China would dock the Lanyue lander and Mengzhou spacecraft in lunar orbit, and Lanyue would touch down, lift off...

Valencia City LGU, farmers receive P6.6M agri equipment from DA

Nov 8, 2026

Valencia City LGU, farmers receive P6.6M agri equipment from DA

VALENCIA CITY, Bukidnon — The Department of Agriculture (DA) in Northern Mindanao (Region 10) has extended farm equipment assistance to the city government and farmers’ groups here worth around P6.6 million to boost farm production and livelihood opportunities. Jose Apollo Pacamalan, DA-10 regional director, and Valencia City Vice Mayor Greizl Galario-Fernandez signed the Memorandum of

The Voice Kids Philippines: Coach Julie mamimili na ng apat na kabilang sa JuleSquad! | Highlights

Nov 8, 2026

The Voice Kids Philippines: Coach Julie mamimili na ng apat na kabilang sa JuleSquad! | Highlights

Nasa punto na si Coach Julie Anne San Jose na kailangan niyang pumili ng apat na JuleSquad members na tatawid sa susunod na round. Sino kaya ang mapipili niya?

The Voice Kids Philippines: Lian Quinsay, may pabaon para kay Coach Yeng | Highlights

Nov 8, 2026

The Voice Kids Philippines: Lian Quinsay, may pabaon para kay Coach Yeng | Highlights

Hindi man daw alaga ni Coach Yeng, naramdaman daw niya ang pabaon na emosyon ni Lian Quinsay bilang JuleSquad member. #TVKPH2026 #TheVoiceKidsPH

Indonesian firefighting helicopter crash in Borneo kills 1

Nov 8, 2026

Indonesian firefighting helicopter crash in Borneo kills 1

A crew member of a helicopter battling Indonesian wildfires was killed on Sunday when the aircraft crashed into a river as it scooped up water for an airborne drop, a local disaster agency said. The crash in Borneo Island’s South Kalimantan province was the second in days involving a firefighting aircraft, after a military helicopter plunged into the waters off Borneo on Wednesday, killing three people. Two Australian pilots survived Sunday’s crash and were “safe”, Berton Panjaitan, a spokesman...

Recommended