Alex Eala

Alex Eala
Alexandra Maniego Eala (born May 23, 2005) is a Filipina professional tennis player.
Eala was the No. 2-ranked ITF junior on October 6, 2020. She has a career-high singles ranking by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) of 189, achieved on 02 October 2023. Eala is the highest-ranked Filipino female singles player in WTA Tour history, surpassing Maricris Gentz, who peaked at No. 284 on October 18, 1999. Eala won her first junior singles title at the 2022 US Open, making her the first Filipino player to win a junior Grand Slam singles title.
Personal life
Her mother Rosemarie "Rizza" Maniego-Eala is a 1985 Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist in the 100-meter backstroke and currently serves as the chief financial officer of Globe Telecom. She is the niece of Philippine Sports Commission chairperson and former Philippine Basketball Association commissioner Noli Eala. Her brother, Michael (Miko), plays tennis for the Pennsylvania State University Nittany Lions.
She has been a student of the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor (Mallorca, Spain), since she was 12 years old.
Junior career
Grand Slam performance - singles:
Australian Open: 3R (2020)
French Open: SF (2020)
Wimbledon: 2R (2021)
US Open: W (2022)
Grand Slam performance - doubles:
Australian Open: W (2020)
French Open: W (2021)
Wimbledon: 2R (2021)
US Open: SF (2021)
2018
At the age of 12, Eala won the 2018 Les Petit As 14-and-under tournament, beating Linda Nosková in the finals. She made her junior Grand Slam debut at the 2019 US Open. She was named the 2019 Milo Junior Athlete of the Year.
2020: First junior doubles title
Eala won the 2020 Australian girls' doubles event, partnering Priska Madelyn Nugroho. They defeated Živa Falkner and Matilda Mutavdzic in the final.
Eala peaked in the junior rankings at No. 2, after reaching the semifinals at the 2020 French Open girls' singles competition.
2021: Second junior doubles title
Eala paid tribute to her roots on Independence Day following another major triumph, this time on the clay court in Paris. Eala and her Russian partner Oksana Selekhmeteva captured the French Open girls' doubles title Saturday. They were the top seeds in the tournament, won after knocking out Maria Bondarenko of Russia and Amarissa Kiara Tóth of Hungary, 6–0, 7–5, in the final.
2022: First junior Grand Slam singles title
On September 11, 2022, Eala became the first Filipino to win a junior Grand Slam singles championship and the only Filipino with multiple junior Grand Slam titles. She defeated the No. 2 seed, Lucie Havlickova of the Czech Republic, in the girls' singles final of the US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.
Professional career
2020: Professional career debut
Eala made her debut on the ITF Women's Circuit on March 4, 2020, as she played in the $15k event at Monastir, Tunisia where she won her first professional match.
2021: First ITF senior title, top 1000 & WTA debuts
She leaped to the top 1000 in the WTA rankings, after winning the title at the first leg of the $15k Manacor event in Spain in January 2021.
She received a wildcard into the qualifying draw of the Miami Open where she lost to Viktória Kužmová in a three-set battle in the first round.
Eala made her first ITF doubles final at the $25k Platja d'Aro in Spain, playing with Oksana Selekhmeteva. They lost to Lithuania's Justina Mikulskyte and Romanian Oana Georgeta Simion, 3-6, 5-7.
In August, she made her WTA Tour main-draw debut at the 2021 Winners Open in Cluj-Napoca, Romania after receiving a wildcard. In her first match, she defeated Paula Ormaechea in straight sets. In the next match, she lost to Mayar Sherif, in straight sets.
2022: Masters 1000 debut
She received a wildcard for her Masters 1000 debut in Miami. She lost to Madison Brengle in the first round in straight sets.
2023: Grand Slam and top 200 debuts
Eala made her debut in the qualifying draw of the Australian Open; she lost her first match to Misaki Doi in a tight three-setter. Her next appearance was at the Hua Hin Championship, where she beat Han Xinyun and Kristina Dmitruk in straight sets to reach the main draw. In her first-round match, she fell to Tatjana Maria.
She entered the top 200 on 28 August 2023 and reached a new career high ranking of world No. 191 on 18 September 2023.
At the 2022 Asian Games won two bronze medals, one in the women's singles and the second in the mixed doubles with Francis Alcantara
Performance timeline
Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup/Billie Jean King Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.
Singles
Current after the 2023 Madrid Open.
ITF Circuit finals
Singles: 6 (4 titles, 2 runner-ups)
Doubles: 1 (runner–up)
Junior Grand Slam finals
Singles: 1 (title)
Doubles: 2 (2 titles)
ITF Junior finals
Singles 9 (4 titles, 5 runner-ups)
Doubles 5 (3 titles, 2 runner-ups)
Notes
References
External links
Sportspeople from Quezon City
Living people
2005 births
Grand Slam (tennis) champions in girls' doubles
Filipino female tennis players
French Open junior champions
Australian Open (tennis) junior champions
Competitors at the 2021 SEA Games
SEA Games bronze medalists for the Philippines
SEA Games medalists in tennis
Grand Slam (tennis) champions in girls' singles
US Open (tennis) junior champions
Tennis players at the 2022 Asian Games
Medalists at the 2022 Asian Games
Asian Games medalists in tennis
Asian Games bronze medalists for the Philippines