The Year That Was: Historic year for Alex Eala

Two weeks before the WTA 1000 Miami Open last March, Alex Eala competed in the ITF W75 Trnava in Slovakia.

Ranked 140th in the world at the time, Eala was defeated in the second round by world No. 266 Valentina Ryser of Switzerland, 6-4, 2-6, 2-6.

Two months earlier, she missed out on the women’s singles main draw of the Australian Open after falling to world No. 134 Jana Fett of Croatia, 5-7, 2-6, in the opening round of the qualifiers.

It marked the third consecutive year she bowed out in the Australian Open qualifiers.

Then came the Miami Miracle—a breakthrough that catapulted Eala into mainstream recognition and forever elevated the standing of Philippine tennis in the international arena of the open era.

Eala secured four straight wins against players all ranked in the top 80 in the world.

Before Miami, she had only beaten two players ranked in the top 100.

Her previous best showing in a WTA event was a second-round finish at the Winners Open in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in 2021.

In Miami, she advanced all the way to the semifinals, defeating three Grand Slam champions on her way: world No. 25 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia (2017 French Open), world No. 5 Madison Keys of the United States (2025 Australian Open), and world No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland (French Open 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024; US Open 2022; Wimbledon 2025).

Rising Amid the Spotlight

As Eala climbed the world rankings and became a fixture on the WTA tour, her list of historic feats continued to grow.

Yet, as competition intensified, losses also began to pile up—a natural part of life on the professional circuit.

Eala’s journey was uniquely nuanced, as it came with a large Filipino fan base, including both devoted supporters and critical observers.

Social media quickly became a battleground, with some keyboard warriors pouncing on every misstep to downplay her accomplishments.

Many of these fans, who previously knew little about Philippine tennis or the difference between the Billie Jean King Cup and the Davis Cup, suddenly posed as tennis experts, critiquing her every defeat.

But true tennis enthusiasts and long-time followers recognized how far the Rafa Nadal Academy product had come.

In 2024, Eala was ranked only 158th in the world—what a difference a year made.

Making History in 2025

The trailblazing young Filipina accomplished several historic firsts in 2025:

• Top 50 in Singles World Rankings: Eala became the first Filipino, male or female, to reach the top 50 in singles. The previous highest ranking achieved by a Filipina was Maricris Fernandez-Gentz at No. 284, while Cecil Mamiit peaked at No. 72 in men’s singles, representing the United States at the time. Mamiit only began representing the Philippines in 2005.
• WTA Finals and Titles: She became the first Filipino to reach the singles final of a WTA event (WTA 250 Eastbourne) and the first to win a WTA 125 singles title (WTA Guadalajara 125 Open).
• Grand Slam Milestones: Eala became the first Filipino to reach the singles second round of a Grand Slam, notching her fourth career victory over a top-25 player by defeating 14th seed Clara Tauson of Denmark, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11), in the US Open. She is also the first Filipina to reach the women’s doubles second round of a Grand Slam (French Open with Renata Zarazua of Mexico) and the first to make the women’s doubles quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 event (Italian Open with Coco Gauff).

Eala closed the year by ending a 26-year women’s singles gold medal drought in the Southeast Asian Games.

The last Filipina to win the title was Fernandez-Gentz in 1999.

In the SEA Games finals in Thailand, Eala dominated Mananchaya Sawangkaew, the top Southeast Asian on the WTA tour earlier in 2025, 6-1, 6-2.

Sawangkaew had defeated Eala in three sets at the ITF Takasaki in October 2024.

Eala is not only one of the breakout stars of 2025, but also a major crowd-puller, attracting attention and fans wherever she competes.

With the spotlight comes higher expectations for 2026.

But Eala has always displayed a calm demeanor and a maturity beyond her years.

She has proven her ability to thrive under pressure and embraces the sacrifices required to reach the pinnacle of her sport.