YEARENDER: Alex Eala puts the Philippines on the tennis world map

CALL HER “Alexandra the Great.”

Twenty years young and all, Alexandra “Alex” Eala has ascended to the world’s echelon of stars on her way to establishing a queendom at home as the Philippine tennis’ best.

The Filipina sensation from the East to the West left an indelible mark, netting a bevy of firsts one after another in a relentless drive from start to finish to finally put the Philippines on the world map via an unpopular home sport at that.

Name it: a string of wins against a former and reigning major champions, a maiden title, a Grand Slam qualification feat paired with a main draw win and a Top 50 ranking for the first time ever for the Philippines, Ms. Eala had it all in a historic 2025 before saving her best for last with a gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games (SEAG).

Ms. Eala, who settled for three bronze medals in her SEAG debut in Hanoi in 2022, added two more bronze mints in the women’s team with Stefi Aludo, Alexa Milliam, Tennielle Madis and Shaira Rivera as well as in the mixed doubles with Niño Alcantara.

And that’s the sweet cherry on top of her banner year.

Ms. Eala started to make giant strides in March after a series of quick exits in the WTA Tour in Europe, the US, Africa and Asia by essaying a Cinderella run at the Miami Open, a WTA 1000 tourney as the biggest tennis event next to the majors.

Then ranked No. 140 as wildcard, unseeded and had to go through the qualifiers, Ms. Eala slayed three former Grand Slam and Top 25 players to barge into the Final Four, becoming the first-ever Filipina WTA semifinalist in history.

She fell short against home bet Jessica Pegula, 6-7, 7-5, 3-6, but caught the eyes, and especially the hearts, of the tennis world including its avid fanbase, after stunning five-time major winner Iga Swiatek (world No. 2) of Poland, 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko (world No. 25) of Latvia and 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys (world No. 5) of the United States.

Ms. Eala was the first Filipino to do it, again, and this time, joined the world’s elite list as well.

She’s only the third wild card to reach the last four in Miami, following former world No. 1 Justine Henin in 2010 and Victoria Azarenka in 2018 from their extended breaks.

Moreover, Ms. Eala became only the second wild card to slay three or more Grand Slam champions in a single tour-level event after Elina Svitolina at Wimbledon 2023.

That run for the ages catapulted Ms. Eala to the titan’s lane, entering No. 75 of the WTA rankings to qualify in all the main draws of Grand Slams like the US Open, Wimbledon and French Open after a qualifying exit in the Australian Open when she was just at the Top 150 threshold to start the year. She also took home her biggest purse from Florida with $332,160 or over P19 million.

And there was no stopping the Filipina juggernaut from there, both in her attempt to scale the world rankings and the confidence to duke it out against the best and more grizzled foes in the WTA Tour playoffs one after another.

By June, Ms. Eala scored another first — a WTA Tour finals appearance in Eastbourne, England following a tough three-setter defeat to Australia’s Maya Joint, 4-6, 6-1, 6(10)-7.

Then came her homecoming in New York, three years after being the first Filipina junior Grand Slam champion, where she blazed another trail by becoming the first Filipina to play and win in any Grand Slam main draw. She beat world No. 15 Clara Tauson of Denmark, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11), but bowed to Spain’s Cristina Bucsa in the second round, 6-4, 6-3.

From semis to finals and finally — a championship, Ms. Eala did it in September at the WTA125 Guadalajara in Mexico with a 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 comeback win against Hungary’s Panna Udvardy to also become the first Filipina WTA Tour champion ever.

As if she’s in for a celebratory ride, Ms. Eala cruised to an Asian trip in China, Japan, Hong Kong and Macau leading up to her national team return that ultimately paid off by delivering the golds that mattered in the SEA Games.

The riveting storybook year propelled Ms. Eala’s to the No. 50 ranking at the end of the WTA Season, a first once again for Philippine tennis that’s about to start 2026 with a bang with the hosting of the Philippine Women’s Open as part of the WTA Tour on Jan. 26 to 31 — all thanks to Ms. Eala’s inspiration to the Philippine Tennis Association and the Philippine Sports Commission to bid.

If the stars align depending on Ms. Eala’s campaign in the Australian Open set on Jan. 12 to Feb. 1 in Melbourne, Ms. Eala is poised to play in her first home game ever after traveling around the world.

And that’s another chapter to open for Ms. Eala in a fast-skyrocketing career with an ultimate goal of winning a Grand Slam and becoming the world’s No. 1 player down the road.

“I have always been a big dreamer. To win Grand Slams has always been one of the end goals. To become No. 1 has always been one of the end goals,” beamed Ms. Eala on the WTA website. — John Bryan Ulanday