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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. 56 on June 30, 2025, by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), she is the highest-ranking 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][4]
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.[5][6]
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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, beating Linda Nosková.[7] The following year, she made her junior Grand Slam debut at the 2019 US Open, where she lost to Mai Napatt Nirundorn in the second round.[8] In 2020, Eala won the 2020 Australian Open girls' doubles event partnered with Priska Madelyn Nugroho, defeating Živa Falkner and Matilda Mutavdzic in the final.[9][10] At the 2020 French Open, Eala reached the semifinals but lost to Elsa Jacquemot.[11]
During the 2021 French Open girls' doubles tournament, Eala won her second junior Grand Slam doubles title while partnered with Oksana Selekhmeteva, defeating Maria Bondarenko and Amarissa Tóth in the final.[12] At the 2022 US Open, Eala won her first junior Grand Slam title after defeating Lucie Havlíčková in the final, becoming the first Filipino to win a junior Grand Slam singles championship,[13][14] as well as the only Filipino player with multiple junior Grand Slam doubles titles.[15]
Junior Grand Slam performance
Singles:
- Australian Open: 3R (2020)
- French Open: SF (2020)
- Wimbledon: 2R (2021)
- US Open: W (2022)
Doubles:
- Australian Open: W (2020)
- French Open: W (2021)
- Wimbledon: 2R (2021)
- US Open: SF (2021)
2020–2024: Professional debut
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In the W15 Monastir Women's Futures Tournament in Tunisia, in March 2020, Eala made her ITF Women's Circuit debut and won her first professional match against Nadia Echeverría Alam.[16]
In January 2021, after winning the finals of W15 Manacor, Spain over Yvonne Cavallé Reimers, Eala entered the WTA top 1000 rankings.[17][18] In March, Eala received a wildcard entry to the 2021 Miami Open qualifiers, where she lost to Viktória Kužmová in the first round.[19] At the W25 Platja d'Aro event in Spain, Eala reached her first ITF doubles final with partner Oksana Selekhmeteva but lost to Justina Mikulskytė and Oana Georgeta Simion.[20] Competing as a wildcard at the 2021 Romanian Open, Eala made her WTA Tour debut, defeating Paula Ormaechea in her first match but losing to Mayar Sherif in the second round.[21] At the 2022 Miami Open, Eala made her debut after receiving a wildcard, losing to Madison Brengle in the first round.[22]
Eala represented the Philippines at the 2021 SEA Games, which were postponed to May 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She secured bronze medals in women's singles, women's team (with Marian Capadocia, Shaira Hope Rivera, and Jenaila Rose Prulla), and mixed doubles (with Treat Huey).[23]
In the 2024 Canberra Tennis International, Eala partnered with Laura Pigossi in doubles, reaching the semifinals before losing to Kaylah McPhee and Astra Sharma.[24] At the 2024 Miami Open, Eala defeated Sara Errani but lost to Emiliana Arango in the second round of qualifiers.
At the 2024 French Open, Eala entered the qualifying rounds, defeating Ma Yexin and Taylah Preston, but lost to Julia Riera.[25] At 2024 Wimbledon, she reached the final qualifying match but lost to Lulu Sun.[26] At the W100 2024 Open Araba en Femenino, Eala triumphed in both singles against Victoria Jiménez Kasintseva and doubles with partner Estelle Cascino against Lia Karatancheva and Diāna Marcinkēviča, which contributed to her rankings of world No. 143 in singles and No. 208 in doubles on July 22, 2024. At the 2024 US Open, Eala reached the final qualifying round but lost to Elena-Gabriela Ruse.[27]
Eala represented the Philippines at the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup where she, alongside Marian Capadocia, Khim Iglupas, and Shaira Rivera, led the team's promotion to Division II.[28][29]
2025: Breakthroughs, top 100
At the 2025 Australian Open, Eala lost in round one of qualifiers.[30][31] Ranked No. 140, Eala was awarded a wildcard for the Miami Open. She defeated Katie Volynets, Jeļena Ostapenko, and Madison Keys, and had a walkover against Paula Badosa.[32] She then defeated Iga Świątek in the quarterfinals before losing to Jessica Pegula in the semifinals.[33][34][35] Eala entered the WTA's top 100 at No. 75 on March 31, 2025.[36] At the Oeiras Ladies Open, Eala lost in round two of singles to Panna Udvardy, and lost in round one of doubles.[37][38] In her next event, the Madrid Open, she lost to Iga Świątek in round two.[39] While she had a quick first round exit in singles at the Italian Open,[40] in doubles she reached the quarterfinals partnering with Coco Gauff, losing to Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani.[41]
Eala made her French Open debut, losing to Emiliana Arango in the first round,[42] but made it to round two of doubles.[43] She lost in the first round in both singles and doubles in Birmingham,[44] but advanced to the singles quarterfinals at the Ilkley Open.[45] Eala suffered another first round loss at the Nottingham Open.[46] At the Eastbourne Open, she defeated Zeynep Sönmez, Hailey Baptiste, Sonay Kartal, Jeļena Ostapenko, Dayana Yastremska, and Varvara Gracheva to become the first Filipino to reach a WTA singles final, where she lost to Maya Joint.[47] After the event, Eala reached a new career-high ranking of No. 56 by the WTA.[48]
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.[49][50] After bowing out in the first round of the Canadian Open,[51] Eala withdrew from the Cincinnati Open and the Monterrey Open due to a shoulder injury.[52][53] During her US Open debut, she defeated Clara Tauson in the first round, achieving her first match victory in a major tournament (becoming the first Filipino to do so in the Open Era),[54] but was subsequently defeated by Cristina Bucșa in the second round.[55][56]
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Endorsements
Eala signed her first endorsement deal at eight years old, becoming an ambassador for Filipino telecommunications company Globe.[57] Starting from her junior career, she has been sponsored by French tennis brand Babolat.[58][59] In 2019, she signed a sponsorship deal to represent Nike.[60] In 2022, Eala was announced as an endorser for Filipino bank BPI.[61][62] 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.[63][64]
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.[65][66] During the same month, Eala was announced as a brand ambassador for Filipino juice brand Locally.[67] 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".[68]
Accolades
In February 2019, Eala received the Milo Junior Athlete of the Year award from the Philippine Sportswriters Association.[69] In April 2025, Eala was awarded the Premios Tanglaw trophy by the Philippine embassy in Madrid for her contributions to strengthening Philippines–Spain relations.[70]
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.[71]
Singles
Current through the 2025 US Open.
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WTA Tour finals
Singles: 1 (runner-up)
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ITF Circuit finals
Singles: 8 (5 titles, 3 runner-ups)
Doubles: 4 (3 titles, 1 runner-up)
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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)
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Wins against top 10 players
- Eala has a 2–2 record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.[72]
- *As of 24 April 2025[update]
Notes
- English: /iːˈɑːlɑː, eɪ-, -lə/; Filipino pronunciation: [ɛˈjalɐ]
References
External links
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