Whatever milestone Alex Eala achieves in her professional career will always be historic for Philippine tennis. No Filipino singles player — male or female — has ever reached the heights that Eala has attained in the Open Era.
On Sunday morning, Philippine time, Eala captured the biggest victory of her career so far. She emerged as champion of the WTA 125 Guadalajara in Mexico after rallying past Hungary’s Panna Udvardy, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.
At just 20 years old, Eala’s résumé continues to grow, establishing her as one of the rising stars on the women’s professional tour. Here are five of her most notable achievements before winning the Guadalajara crown:
1) ITF W15 Manacor, January 2021
Photo from Rafael Nadal Academy
The first is always special.
Eala kicked off 2021 with a breakthrough, winning her maiden professional title at the ITF W15 Rafa Nadal Academy World Tennis Tournament in Manacor, Spain.
She battled through four matches to reach the final, where she came from a set down to outlast 28-year-old hometown favorite Yvonne Cavallé Reimers, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2. She was only 15 years old at the time, still competing primarily in the junior circuit.
With the triumph, Eala became the youngest Filipina ever to win an ITF title, breaking the record previously held by former Philippine No.1 Maricris Fernandez-Gentz, who was 17 when she captured her first of four ITF crowns.
Before Eala’s breakthrough, the last Filipino to lift a professional trophy was Katharina Lehnert, who won the ITF W15 Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt back in 2015.
2) Asian Games, September 2023
(c) PSC-POC Media Group
Eala ended a long medal drought for the Philippines in Asian Games tennis during the Hangzhou edition.
The last time the Philippines earned tennis medals at the Asiad was in 2006, when Cecil Mamiit won bronze in men’s singles and teamed up with Eric Taino to secure bronze in men’s doubles.
Seventeen years later, Eala replicated Mamiit’s feat, bringing home two bronze medals.
She partnered with Francis Casey Alcantara, the 2009 Australian Open boys’ doubles champion, to clinch bronze in mixed doubles.
In women’s singles, then-18-year-old Eala pushed home favorite and 2022 WTA Newcomer of the Year Zheng Qinwen — the eventual champion and now world No.7 — to three sets in the semifinals before bowing, 1-6, 7-6 (5), 3-6.
3) WTA 250 Eastbourne, June 2025
(C) Eastbourne Open
On the grass courts of the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club, Eala produced one of the finest runs of her young career.
Starting from the qualifiers, she strung together six straight wins — four of them in the main draw — all against opponents ranked inside the world’s top 100. Among her victims were 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia and 2024 Australian Open semifinalist Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine.
In the final, Eala had four championship points in the deciding set but could not convert, allowing Australian teen sensation Maya Joint to snatch the crown.
Despite the heartbreak, Eala made history as the first Filipino in the Open Era to reach a WTA singles final. For comparison, Mamiit once reached the ATP Sybase Open final in 1999 but was still representing the United States at the time.
4) ITF W100 Open Araba en Femenino, July 2024
(C) ITF
Eala scored a rare double triumph in Gasteiz, Spain.
She first teamed up with French partner Estelle Cascino to dominate the doubles field, clinching the title without dropping a set. Then, in singles, Eala squared off against Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva of Andorra — a fellow junior Grand Slam champion and former world junior No.1.
In a battle of talented left-handed teenagers, Eala prevailed in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, marking the biggest singles title of her career up to that point. It was also her fifth championship on the ITF circuit.
5) WTA 1000 Miami Open, March 2025
(C) Miami Open
Ranked 140th in the world, Eala entered the Miami Open as a wildcard with modest expectations.
Prior to the tournament, her best WTA result was a second-round finish in Romania in 2021, and she had beaten only two top-100 opponents in her career.
That all changed in Miami.
Eala shocked the tennis world with a blistering run, defeating four top-100 players, including world No.5 and Australian Open champion Madison Keys, as well as world No.2 and five-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek.
Her magical run ended in the semifinals against world No.4 Jessica Pegula in a tightly contested three-set duel, but by then, Eala had already announced her arrival on the world stage.
The performance catapulted her up 65 spots in the rankings, securing her entry into Grand Slam main draws.
