Defeating Iga Swiatek, Alex Eala has emerged as the most talked-about rookie.
She is a living legend — the first Filipino player to reach the semifinals of a WTA Tour tournament and to break into the top 30 of the WTA Tour singles world rankings.
Standing tall at 175cm and celebrated for her looks as well as her tennis, she is a national hero in the Philippines with over a million followers.
The rising star once noticed by Nadal is now preparing to leap onto the world stage of women’s tennis — that player is Alexandra Eala.
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Alex Eala Tennis
As an aggressive baseliner, she leads rallies with her forehand and drives points with a two-handed backhand. Her strength lies in her return game after using her left-handed topspin to push opponents to the back of the court. Meanwhile, her serve is still somewhat lacking in power and variety, and she tends to perform especially well on hard courts.
She recorded a career-high world ranking of No. 29 — the highest ever achieved by a Filipino player on the WTA Tour — becoming the first Filipino to break into the WTA top 30. She is also the first Filipino player to have multiple wins over top-10 players and major champions, and the first Filipino player of the Open Era to reach a tour-level final.
As a junior, she won the girls’ singles title at the 2022 US Open Junior Championships, becoming the first Filipino to win a junior Grand Slam title, and rose to No. 2 in the world junior rankings in October 2020. At the 2025 Miami Open, she defeated a string of top-10 players to become the first Filipino to reach the semifinals of a WTA 1000 event.
At the 2025 US Open, she defeated Clara Tauson to record the first Grand Slam main-draw win by a Filipino player in the Open Era. On the WTA 125 tour, she won the 2025 Guadalajara Open and the 2026 Birmingham Open, giving her two career WTA 125 titles.
Alex Eala Awards & Tour Titles
WTA 125 Singles — 2025 Guadalajara 125 Open, 2026 Birmingham Open (2 career titles)
ITF Circuit Singles — 2021 ITF Manacor (W15), 2022 ITF Chiang Rai (W25), 2023 ITF Yecla (W25), 2023 ITF Roehampton (W25), 2024 Copa Alaba en Femenino (W100) (5 career titles)
ITF Circuit Doubles — 2024 ITF Pune Open (W50), 2024 Open de Seine-et-Marne (W75), 2024 Copa Alaba en Femenino (W100) (3 career titles)
Junior Grand Slam Singles — 2022 US Open (1 career title)
Junior Grand Slam Doubles — 2020 Australian Open, 2021 French Open (2 career titles)
※ Grand Slam Statistics & Results
- 2021: 1 win, 1 loss
- 2022: 0 wins, 1 loss
- 2023: 0 wins, 6 losses
- 2024: 1 win, 6 losses
- 2025: 6 wins, 6 losses
- 2026: 8 wins, 5 losses (as of June 29)
Her career Grand Slam singles record is 1 win and 5 losses, broken down as 0-1 at the Australian Open, 0-2 at the French Open, 0-1 at Wimbledon, and 1-1 at the US Open. Her career singles record overall is 221 wins and 134 losses, and her doubles record is 49 wins and 48 losses.
Alexandra Eala Ranking Progression
Singles
- 2013: Little Mo International Tennis Grand Slam Championship, U8 division
- 2015: Dubrovnik Babolat Championship, U11 division
- 2018: Les Petits As
- 2018: ITF Alicante (G5)
- 2018: ITF Makati City (G4)
- 2019: ITF Cape Town (GA)
- 2021: ITF Milan (GA)
- 2021: ITF Manacor (W15)
- 2022: US Open Junior Championships
- 2022: ITF Chiang Rai (W25)
- 2023: ITF Yecla (W25)
- 2023: ITF Roehampton (W25)
- 2024: Copa Alaba en Femenino (W100)
- 2025: Guadalajara 125 Open
- 2026: Birmingham Open
- 2026: WTA DC Open — Champion
Doubles
- 2018: ITF Alicante (G5)
- 2019: Orange Bowl International
- 2019: ITF Plantation (GA)
- 2020: Australian Open Juniors
- 2021: French Open Juniors
- 2021: ITF Milan (GA)
- 2024: ITF Pune Open (W50)
- 2024: Open de Seine-et-Marne (W75)
- 2024: Copa Alaba en Femenino (W100)
Alexandra Eala Tennis SAGA
Born on May 23, 2005 in Quezon City, Philippines, to Michael Eala, a corporate executive, and Rosemarie Maniego Eala, former CFO of Globe Telecom. Her mother is a former national swimmer who won a bronze medal in the women’s 100m backstroke at the 1985 SEA Games.
Her uncle Nonoy Eala has served as chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission and commissioner of the Philippine Basketball Association, while another uncle, Rajo Laurel, is a fashion designer. Her older brother, Michael Christian Eala, also played on the Penn State University tennis team from 2020 to 2024 — she comes from a prominent Filipino family.
Her maternal grandfather, Roberto Maniego, introduced her to tennis and served as her first coach; she began playing at age 4. After attending Immaculate Conception Academy in San Juan, Manila, and Colegio San Agustin in Makati, she moved to the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain, graduating from the academy in 2023.
She began competing at age 6, and at age 8 won the U8 division of the Little Mo International Tennis Grand Slam Championship in the US, beginning to make a name for herself as a prodigy. In 2015 she won the U11 division of the Dubrovnik Babolat Championship in Croatia, and in 2017 she rose to No. 1 in the Tennis Asia rankings and was named Tennis Europe’s Doubles Player of the Year.
In 2018, she received a wildcard into Les Petits As in France and won the tournament for the first time in its history, earning a wildcard berth into the French Open juniors. In 2019, she helped the Philippines reach the ITF World Junior Tennis Finals for the first time in 26 years, and also reached the main draw of the US Open juniors.
In 2020, she won the Australian Open junior girls’ doubles title, reached the semifinals of the French Open junior girls’ singles, and rose to No. 2 in the world junior rankings. In 2021, she again won the French Open junior girls’ doubles title. In 2022, she defeated Lucie Havlíčková in the final of the US Open girls’ singles to win the title, becoming the first Filipino to win a junior Grand Slam singles title.
In March 2020, she made her professional debut at the W15 Monastir tournament in Tunisia, winning her opening match. In January 2021, she won her first ITF title at the W15 Manacor tournament in Spain, and that same year recorded her first WTA Tour-level win — the first ever by a Filipino player — at the Romania Open, marking her WTA Tour debut.
She received a wildcard into the 2022 Miami Open but lost in the first round. In 2023, she made her first appearance in Australian Open qualifying, and in 2024 she won the W100 Copa Alaba en Femenino, then her best career ITF title.
In March 2025, ranked No. 140 in the world, she received a wildcard into the Miami Open and defeated Elena Rybakina, Madison Keys, and Iga Swiatek in succession to reach the semifinals — the first-ever WTA 1000 semifinal appearance by a Filipino player. Following the Miami Open, she broke into the world’s top 100 for the first time.
That August, she defeated Clara Tauson in the first round of the US Open, marking the first Grand Slam main-draw win by a Filipino player in the Open Era. In September, she won the Guadalajara 125 Open, her first WTA 125 title, and finished the 2025 season ranked No. 50.
On March 16, 2026, she reached a career-high ranking of No. 29 in the world, the highest ranking ever achieved by a Filipino player on the WTA Tour. That June, she won the Birmingham Open, her second WTA 125 title. As of the end of June 2026, she is ranked No. 32 in the world.
※ Alexandra Eala vs Iga Swiatek — Wimbledon 2026 Highlights
Alex Eala’s Equipment
- Tennis Racket — Babolat Pure Aero 2023, strung with Babolat RPM Blast
- Tennis shoes — Nike Vapor Pro 3 Premium, Bright Crimson/Metallic Silver model
- Hat/tennis wear — Nike
Alex Eala’s Achievements
- 2019–2026: Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Annual Awards Night — honored 8 consecutive years
- 2021: Named to Tatler Asia’s list of influential figures in Asia
- April 2025: Received the Premios Tanglaw Trophy from the Philippine Embassy in Madrid
- 2026: Selected for Forbes Asia 30 Under 30, Entertainment & Sports category
※ Alexandra Eala 2026 Washington DC Final WTA Match Highlights
※ Career Highlights
- March 2020: Turned pro
- 2021: WTA Tour debut
- 2022: Named Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) brand ambassador
- March 2025: First entry into the world’s top 100
- July 2025: Named Locally brand ambassador
- February 2026: Named Milo brand ambassador
- August 2026: Career-high ranking of No. 20
Alex Eala Bio
- English name: Alexandra Maniego Eala | Alexandra Eala
- Full name: Alexandra Maniego Eala
- Date of birth: May 23, 2005 (age 21)
- Birthplace: Quezon City, Philippines | Nationality: Filipino
- Height: 175cm | Weight: – | Blood type: – | MBTI: – | Religion: –
- Education: Immaculate Conception Academy → Colegio San Agustin → Rafa Nadal Academy (graduated 2023)
- Family: Father Michael Eala, Mother Rosemarie Maniego Eala, Brother Michael Christian Eala
- Marital status: Unmarried
- Personal SNS: Instagram
- Debut year: 2020 (professional debut)
- Ranking: World No. 32 in singles (as of June 29, 2026); career-high No. 29 (March 16, 2026)
