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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. She reached a career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 50 on 3 November 2025, making her the highest-ranked Filipino in tour history. She is also the first Filipino to break into the top 50, defeat multiple top-5 players and major champions, and reach a tour-level final in the Open Era.
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Eala reached a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 2 on 6 October 2020 and became the first Filipino to win a junior Grand Slam title by claiming the girls' singles crown at the 2022 US Open.
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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][4] Her brother, Michael "Miko" Eala, played tennis for the Pennsylvania State University Nittany Lions from 2020 to 2024.[5][6]
Eala attended the Immaculate Conception Academy in San Juan and Colegio San Agustin in Makati, before transferring to the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor, Spain. She graduated from the academy in 2023.[7][8][9]
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Career
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2018–2022: Juniors
At age 12, Eala won the 2018 Les Petits As tournament.[10] In October, she claimed her first under-18 title at the ITF Trofeo David Ferrer tournament in Alicante, Spain, winning both singles and doubles (with Joelle Lilly Sophie Steur).[11]
Eala made her junior major debut at the 2019 US Open, where she reached the second round.[12] At the 2020 Australian Open, she reached the third round in singles[13] and won the girls' doubles title with Priska Madelyn Nugroho.[14] She reached the semifinals of the 2020 French Open, boosting her ITF junior ranking to world No. 2.[15]
In 2021, Eala captured her second junior major doubles title at the French Open, teaming up with Oksana Selekhmeteva.[16] The following July, she dominated the 61st Trofeo Bonfiglio in Milan, clinching both the singles and doubles crowns alongside Madison Sieg.[17] At Wimbledon, Eala advanced to the second round,[18] and later that year, she reached the quarterfinals of the US Open.[19] Her breakthrough came in 2022, when she claimed her first junior Grand Slam singles title.[20]
2020–2024: Professional debut
In March 2020, Eala made her ITF Circuit debut at the W15 Monastir series of tournaments in Tunisia, winning her first professional match.[21] 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.[22] She received a wildcard to the 2021 Miami Open qualifiers in March but lost in the tournament's first round.[23] At the W25 Platja d'Aro event, she reached her first ITF doubles final (with Oksana Selekhmeteva).[24]
Eala made her WTA Tour debut as a wildcard entrant at the 2021 Romanian Open, losing in the second round.[25] She received another wildcard into the main draw of the 2022 Miami Open, where she was eliminated at the first round.[26]
In 2023, Eala compiled a 40–26 singles record from 66 matches, contesting seven WTA Tour tournaments—including one Grand Slam qualifying draw, two WTA 1000 and four WTA 250 main draws—while most of her season was spent in eighteen ITF events.[27][28] She won two ITF singles titles at W15 Yecla and W25 Roehampton.[29][30] She reached the finals of the W25 Aldershot and W40 Petange; semifinals at W100 Vitoria-Gasteiz and W60 Nantes; quarterfinals at W60 Barcelona and W100 Tokyo. On the WTA Tour, she lost in the first rounds of the Thailand Open, Japan Women's Open, Guangzhou Open, and Jasmin Open. She also appeared as a wildcard in the Miami Open and Madrid Open.[31][32] On August 28, she cracked the WTA top 200, continuing her surge to reach No. 191 just three weeks later.[33]
In 2024, Eala (with Laura Pigossi) reached the semifinals of the WTA 125 Canberra International doubles event.[34] That year, Eala was eliminated in the qualifiers of the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open.[35] Eala reached the quarterfinals of the WTA 125 Veneto Open, where she was defeated by Sara Errani—her best result for 2024.[36]
2025: Miami semifinals, WTA 125 title, top 50
Eala began 2025 by competing in two WTA 125 events, reaching the semifinals and the second round of the Canberra International and Mumbai Open, respectively.[37][38] Eala started the 2025 WTA Tour at the Australian Open, Eala lost in round one of the qualifiers.[39] She also competed at the Singapore Open, where she was eliminated in the second round of qualifiers.[40] She later sustained second‑round defeats at the W100 Bengaluru in India, and both W75 tournaments in Trnava, Slovakia.[41][42][43]
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.[44] Following these results, Eala became the first Filipino to reach a WTA 1000 event 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.[45] On March 31, 2025, she entered the WTA's top 100, ranking at No. 75.[46][47]
At the WTA 125 Oeiras Ladies Open, Eala made a second-round exit in singles and a first-round exit in doubles.[48][49] In her next event, the Madrid Open, she lost to Iga Świątek in round two.[50] While she had a quick first-round exit in singles at the Italian Open,[51] she reached the doubles quarterfinals partnering with Coco Gauff, losing to Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani.[52] Eala made her French Open debut, losing to Emiliana Arango in the first round,[53] but made it to round two of doubles with Renata Zarazúa.[54] Competing in WTA 125 events, she lost in the first round in both singles and doubles at the Birmingham Open,[55] but advanced to the quarterfinals of the Ilkley Open.[56] Eala suffered another first-round loss at the Nottingham Open.[57] At the Eastbourne Open, she lost to Maya Joint in her first WTA tour final.[58] After the event, Eala reached a new WTA ranking of No. 56.[59]
Eala's debut at Wimbledon resulted in two first-round losses: in singles to Barbora Krejčíková, and in doubles with Eva Lys.[60][61] After losing in the first round of the Canadian Open,[62] Eala withdrew from the Cincinnati Open and the Monterrey Open due to a shoulder injury.[63] 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,[64] but was subsequently defeated by Cristina Bucșa in the second round.[65]
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.[66][67] Eala then lost to Janice Tjen during the quarterfinals of the SP Open in São Paulo, Brazil.[68] Afterwards, she competed at the WTA 125 Jingshan Open, where eventual champion Lulu Sun defeated her during the semifinals.[69] At the WTA 125 Suzhou Open, she reached the quarterfinals, where she was defeated by Viktorija Golubic.[70] She was eliminated in the qualifying round of the Wuhan Open.[71]
At the Japan Women's Open, Eala suffered a first-round defeat to Tereza Valentová, who went on to reach the final.[72] In Guangzhou, she made an early exit after losing to eventual semifinalist Claire Liu.[73] She later teamed up with Nadiia Kichenok to reach the doubles semifinals at the Guangzhou Open, falling to eventual champions Katarzyna Piter and Janice Tjen.[74][75] At the Hong Kong Open, Eala advanced to the second round but was defeated by Victoria Mboko, who finally secured the championship.[76]
Eala finished the season ranked No. 50 in the world, the highest singles ranking ever achieved by a player from the Philippines.[77][78]
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Other activities
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National team
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Eala has played for the Philippines in international events. She competed at the 2021 SEA Games (postponed to 2022), winning bronze medals in the women's singles, women's team, and mixed doubles.[79] At the 2022 Asian Games (postponed to 2023), Eala earned bronze medals in the women's singles and mixed doubles.[80]
In 2024, Eala led Team Philippines to a dominant 5–0 sweep in the Billie Jean King Cup Asia/Oceania Group II, going undefeated in singles and doubles, with teammates Marian Capadocia, Khim Iglupas and Shaira Hope Rivera contributing to the squad's successful promotion to Group I.[81]
Sponsorships and endorsements
Eala signed her first endorsement deal at eight years old, becoming an ambassador for Filipino telecommunications company Globe.[82] Starting from her junior career, she has been sponsored by French tennis brand Babolat.[83][84] In 2019, she signed a sponsorship deal to represent Nike.[85] In 2022, Eala was announced as an endorser for Filipino bank BPI.[86][87] 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.[88][89]
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.[90][91] During the same month, Eala was announced as a brand ambassador for Filipino juice brand Locally.[92] 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".[93][94]
Accolades
Awarded by the Philippine Sportswriters Association, Eala has been recognized as a seven-time honoree (2019–2024, 2026) for her "outstanding" achievements in tennis at the PSA Annual Awards.[95] In 2021, Tatler Asia included Eala in its annual list of Asia's most influential people.[96] In April 2025, she was awarded the Premios Tanglaw trophy by the Philippine embassy in Madrid for her contributions to strengthening Philippines–Spain relations.[97]
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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.[98]
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)
ITF Circuit finals
Singles: 8 (5 titles, 3 runner-ups)
Doubles: 4 (3 titles, 1 runner-up)
- Tournament sources: Eala ITF Tour activity[99]
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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.[100]
- *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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