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Alexandra Eala
Filipino tennis player (born 2005) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Alexandra Maniego Eala[a] (born May 23, 2005) is a Filipino professional tennis player. Having reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 54 on October 6, 2025, by the WTA, she is the highest-ranked Filipino player in WTA Tour history. She is also the first to enter the top 100, as well as the first to defeat multiple top-5 players and major champions and to reach a tour-level final in the Open Era.
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Eala achieved an ITF junior ranking of No. 2 on October 6, 2020, and won the girls' singles title at the 2022 US Open, becoming the first Filipino to claim a junior major title.
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Early and personal life
Eala was born on May 23, 2005, in Quezon City, Philippines.[1] Her mother, Rosemarie "Rizza" Maniego-Eala, was a 1985 Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist in the 100-meter backstroke and later served as the chief financial officer of Globe Telecom until 2024.[2] Eala is a niece of former Philippine Sports Commission chairperson and Philippine Basketball Association commissioner Noli Eala.[3] Her brother, Michael "Miko" Eala, played tennis for the Pennsylvania State University Nittany Lions from 2020 to 2024.[2]
Eala attended the Immaculate Conception Academy in San Juan and Colegio San Agustin in Makati, before transferring to the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor, Mallorca, Spain. She graduated from the academy in 2023.[4][5]
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Career
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2018–2022: Juniors
At the age of 12, Eala won the 2018 Les Petit As tournament.[6] In October, Eala won singles and doubles titles (with Joelle Lilly Sophie Steur) at the ITF Trofeo David Ferrer under-18 tournament in Alicante, Spain, claiming her first under-18 title.[7] The following year, she made her junior Grand Slam tournament debut at the 2019 US Open, where she lost in the second round.[8] Eala won the 2020 Australian Open girls' doubles event partnered with Priska Madelyn Nugroho.[9] At the 2020 French Open, Eala reached the semifinals.[10]
At the 2021 French Open girls' doubles tournament, Eala won her second junior Grand Slam doubles title with partner Oksana Selekhmeteva.[11] In July, Eala won the singles and doubles events (partnered with Madison Sieg) at the 61st Trofeo Bonfiglio tournament held in Milan.[12] Eala won her first junior Grand Slam tournament singles title at the 2022 US Open.[13]
Junior Grand Slam performance
Singles:
- US Open: 2R (2019)
- Australian Open: 3R (2020)
- French Open: SF (2020)
- Wimbledon: 2R (2021)
- US Open: W (2022)
Doubles:
2020–2024: Professional debut
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In March 2020, Eala made her ITF Women's Circuit debut at the W15 Monastir series of tournaments in Tunisia, winning her first professional match.[14] In January 2021, Eala, as the youngest and lowest-seeded junior reserve, won the W15 Manacor final in Spain and subsequently entered the WTA top 1000 rankings.[15] She received a wildcard to the 2021 Miami Open qualifiers in March but lost in the tournament's first round.[16] At the W25 Platja d'Aro event, she reached her first ITF doubles final (with Oksana Selekhmeteva).[17]
Eala made her WTA Tour debut as a wildcard at the 2021 Romanian Open, becoming the first Filipino to win a tour-level match, before losing in the second round.[18] She received another wildcard into the main draw of the 2022 Miami Open, where she was eliminated at the first round.[19] Representing the Philippines, Eala competed at the 2021 SEA Games (postponed to 2022), winning bronze medals in the women's singles, women's team, and mixed doubles.[20] In 2023, she participated in her first professional Grand Slam, losing in the qualifying round of the Australian Open.[21] She received wildcards to the Miami Open and Madrid Open and qualified for the Thailand Open, exiting in the first round of all three tournaments.[22][23][24] Despite these setbacks, she made it into the WTA top 200 on August 28 and reached a career-high ranking of 191 on September 18.[25] At the 2022 Asian Games (postponed to 2023), Eala earned bronze medals in the women's singles and mixed doubles.[26] In 2024, Eala (with Laura Pigossi) reached the semifinals of the WTA 125 Canberra Tennis International doubles event.[27] That year, Eala was eliminated in the qualifiers of the Australian Open,[28] French Open,[29] Wimbledon,[30] and US Open.[31] Eala reached the quarterfinals of the WTA 125 Veneto Open, where she was defeated by Sara Errani—her best result for 2024.[32]
During the 2024 Hologic WTA tour, Eala suffered a series of early exits from the following events: the Abu Dhabi Open, the Miami Open, the Madrid Open, the Nottingham Open, the Guadalajara 500 Open Akron, the Wuhan Open, the Ningbo Open, the Guangzhou Open, and the Jiangxi Open.[33] While competing in the 2024 WTA 125 tour, she entered the Canberra Tennis International, the Oeiras Ladies Open, the Makarska Open, the Polish Open and the Guadalajara 125 Open.[33]
Aside from the 2021 ITF W15 in Manacor, Eala has won four other ITF singles titles: the W25 in Chiang Rai, Thailand, in April 2022, the W25 in Yecla, Spain, in May 2023, the W25 in Roehampton, United Kingdom, in August 2023 and the W100 Open Araba en Femenino in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, in July 2024.[34] In 2024, Eala won three ITF doubles titles: with Darja Semeņistaja, the W50 in Pune, India, and with Estelle Cascino, the W75 Open de Seine-et-Marne in Croissy-Beaubourg, France, and the W100 Open Araba en Femenino in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.[35]
2025: Breakthroughs, first WTA 125 title, top 100
Eala began 2025 by competing in two Challenger-level WTA 125 events, reaching the semifinals and the second round of the Canberra Tennis International and Mumbai Open, respectively.[36][37] Eala started the 2025 WTA Tour at the Australian Open, Eala lost in round one of the qualifiers.[38] Ranked No. 140, Eala was awarded a wildcard for the Miami Open, where she defeated Jeļena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, and Iga Świątek before losing to Jessica Pegula in the semifinals.[39] Following these results, Eala became the first Filipino to reach a WTA semifinal, the first Filipino woman to defeat a major champion at a tour-level event in the Open Era, and the first wildcard in history to defeat three major champions in straight sets at a single WTA event.[40] On March 31, 2025, she entered the WTA's top 100 as the first Filipino to achieve the feat, ranking at No. 75.[41][42]
At the WTA 125 Oeiras Ladies Open, Eala made a second-round exit in singles and a first-round exit in doubles.[43][44] In her next event, the Madrid Open, she lost to Iga Świątek in round two.[45] While she had a quick first-round exit in singles at the Italian Open,[46] she reached the doubles quarterfinals partnering with Coco Gauff, losing to Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani.[47] Eala made her French Open debut, losing to Emiliana Arango in the first round,[48] but made it to round two of doubles with Renata Zarazúa.[49] Competing in WTA 125 events, she lost in the first round in both singles and doubles at the Birmingham Open,[50] but advanced to the quarterfinals of the Ilkley Open.[51] Eala suffered another first-round loss at the Nottingham Open.[52] At the Eastbourne Open, she defeated Varvara Gracheva in the semifinals to become the first Filipina to reach a WTA tour level singles final, where she lost to Maya Joint.[53] After the event, Eala reached a new WTA career-high ranking of No. 56.[54]
Eala's debut at Wimbledon resulted in two first-round losses: in singles to Barbora Krejcikova, and in doubles with Eva Lys to Ingrid Martins and Quinn Gleason.[55][56] After losing in the first round of the Canadian Open,[57] Eala withdrew from the Cincinnati Open and the Monterrey Open due to a shoulder injury.[58] During her US Open debut, she defeated Clara Tauson in the first round, becoming the first Filipino player to achieve a match victory in a major tournament in the Open Era,[59] but was subsequently defeated by Cristina Bucșa in the second round.[60]
Seeded second, Eala won her first WTA 125 title by defeating Panna Udvardy at the Guadalajara 125 Open final, becoming the first Filipino to achieve this milestone.[61][62] Eala then lost to Janice Tjen during the quarterfinals of the SP Open in São Paulo, Brazil.[63] Afterwards, she competed at the WTA 125 Jingshan Open, where eventual champion Lulu Sun defeated her during the semifinals.[64] At the WTA 125 Suzhou Open, she reached the quarterfinals, where she was defeated by Viktorija Golubic.[65] She was eliminated in the qualifying round of the Wuhan Open.[66]
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Other activities
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Endorsements
Eala signed her first endorsement deal at eight years old, becoming an ambassador for Filipino telecommunications company Globe.[67] Starting from her junior career, she has been sponsored by French tennis brand Babolat.[68][69] In 2019, she signed a sponsorship deal to represent Nike.[70] In 2022, Eala was announced as an endorser for Filipino bank BPI.[71][72] She has appeared on fashion spreads and magazine covers, including those of the November 2022 issue of Vogue Philippines and the January 2025 issue of Tatler Philippines.[73][74]
In July 2025, for her Wimbledon debut, Nike gifted Eala with a hair tie designed in the form of a sampaguita blossom, the national flower of the Philippines.[75][76] During the same month, Eala was announced as a brand ambassador for Filipino juice brand Locally.[77] In August, Nike released an Eala-inspired limited edition shirt designed by Filipino artist Georgina Camus, featuring the "national flower of the Philippines overlaid on the All England Lawn Tennis Club's grass courts".[78]
Accolades
In February 2019, Eala received the Milo Junior Athlete of the Year award from the Philippine Sportswriters Association.[79] In April 2025, Eala was awarded the Premios Tanglaw trophy by the Philippine embassy in Madrid for her contributions to strengthening Philippines–Spain relations.[80]
Performance timeline
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| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup/Billie Jean King Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.[81]
Singles
Current through the 2025 US Open.
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WTA Tour finals
Singles: 1 (runner-up)
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WTA Challenger finals
Singles: 1 (title)
- Tournament sources: Eala Challenger Tour activity[82]
ITF Circuit finals
Singles: 8 (5 titles, 3 runner-ups)
Doubles: 4 (3 titles, 1 runner-up)
- Tournament sources: Eala ITF Tour activity[82]
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Junior Grand Slam finals
Singles: 1 (title)
Doubles: 2 (2 titles)
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ITF Junior finals
Singles: 9 (4 titles, 5 runner-ups)
Doubles: 5 (3 titles, 2 runner-ups)
Wins against top 10 players
- Eala holds a 2–2 career record against players ranked in the WTA top 10 at the time of play.[83]
- *As of 24 April 2025[update]
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Notes
- English: /iːˈɑːlɑː, eɪ-, -lə/; Filipino pronunciation: [ɛˈjalɐ]
References
External links
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