Alex Eala is putting the Philippines on the tennis map. After her breakthrough success at the 2025 Miami Open when she defeated three Grand Slam champions: Madison Keys, Jelena Ostapenko, and Iga Swiatek, Eala is the Philippines tennis darling. That’s why she is expected to draw a lot of fans and interest should she appear in the inaugural WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open.
philippine women’s open is gonna happen! a big step for ph tennis 🤩 pic.twitter.com/8ulKPGp6Z9
— lala (@serveinsunlight) November 25, 2025
Eala studied at the Rafael Nadal Academy and to date is the only Filipina player to win a WTA tennis title. She is the player who Nadal dusted off his racquet to hit with on the one year anniversary of his retirement.
She will have plenty of fan support at the Manila-based one week tournament that is expected to run from January 26-31, 2026.
However, there is one good reason why she would not be headlining the tournament.
If she is successfully moving through the 2026 Australian Open draw, she won’t be available. AO runs concurrently from January 12-Februrary 1.
Philippine fans would forgive her if she had the good fortune to be in the mix for a Grand Slam title and needed to forego her Manila appearance.
Alex Eala And Her Rising Ranking
Eala concluded the 2025 season at World No. 50.
That is a huge jump from the World No. 149 ranking she achieved at the end of the 2024 season.
Eala’s left-handed game shows a lot of promise. Her forehand is powerful; however, her serve will need to evolve as she matures, grows stronger, and continues to play top players.
It is arguably the biggest thing that could hold her back from getting into the Top 20 within the next 12-18 months.
Alex Eala if she and her team can fix her serve 😭 pic.twitter.com/PgSpXvkHLl
— marv (@mvn_dn) September 27, 2025
Eala is likely inspiring Philippine compatriots to enter professional tennis which means Filipino fans will have more players to cheer for in the coming years.
