With the weight of a nation behind her but her focus firmly on the present, Pinay tennis ace Alex Eala is blocking out the noise as she prepares for her much-anticipated debut in the Philippine Women’s Open, which gets underway on Monday at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
Despite expecting full support from the hometown crowd, Eala stressed that her approach remains unchanged as she enters the WTA 125 tournament on home soil.
“I never go into any tournament thinking to win the whole thing. Although this is at home, my mindset in that sense is no different. I take it match by match. I will do everything I can to win the first one,” Eala said on Saturday during a press conference at a packed tent just outside the venue.
Seeded No. 2, the Filipina netter—ranked at an all-time high No. 49 in the world—opens her campaign against Alina Charaeva (No. 169) in the first round.
“I have met her (Charaeva) before. She is a very nice person and a great player so I am just going out there and prepare to the best of my ability,” added the Philippine Sportswriters Association co-Athlete of the Year for 2025.
Rather than feeling pressured, Eala sees the prospect of playing in front of a likely sell-out local crowd as an edge.
(C) Philippine Women’s Open
“This is an advantage. This is what so special special playing at home.
“I will be happy to see many Pinoys coming out to see us play tennis. It is so crazy to see this community rallying behind me. And the support has led to something like this, the first home tournament,” she said.
The Philippine Women’s Open marks the country’s first major international women’s tennis tournament and is backed by the Philippine Sports Commission—the inaugural project of 2026 of the National Sports Tourism Inter-Agency Committee headed by PSC Chairman Pato Gregorio—something Eala described as “so surreal.”
“To have a home tournament and see it come to life, I am so grateful and have a little kind of disbelief that it is actually happening. I feel na kailan lang ang layu-layo ng dream na ito. Now it’s happened. So I am happy to be here.”
Still, the Thailand Southeast Asian Games women’s singles gold medalist urged fans not to overlook the other Filipina entries in the main draw—Tennielle Madis, Kaye Ann Emana, and Elizabeth Abarquez—who all received wild cards.
“The fact that we are able to have a WTA tournament at home is the real focus, and that there are so many Filipinos in the draw. That is the focus and the highlight of this week.”
UAAP Season 87 Tennis MVP Emana faces Tatiana Prozorova in the opening round, while Madis squares off against Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawankaew. Abarquez, meanwhile, will take on Japan’s Mai Hontama.
Also looking to break into the main draw is Stefi Aludo, who cruised past Angeline Alcala, 6-1, 6-0, in the opening round of qualifying on Saturday.
Aludo faces top-seeded qualifier Sakura Hosogi of Japan on Sunday for a spot in the main draw.
