Wikipedia - Alex Eala
Alexandra Maniego Eala (born May 23, 2005) is a Filipina professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking by the WTA of world No. 160, achieved on 20 May 2024. She is the highest-ranked Filipino female singles player in WTA Tour history, surpassing Maricris Gentz, who peaked at No. 284 on 18 October 1999.
Eala was the No. 2 ranked ITF junior on October 6, 2020. 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.
History
Juniors
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 11 September, 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 Havlíčková 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
2020-2021: First ITF title, top 1000 & WTA debuts
On 4 March 2020, Eala made her debut on the ITF Women's Circuit, as she played in the $15k event at Monastir, Tunisia where she won her first professional match.
In January 2021, 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.
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 Mikulskytė and Romanian Oana Georgeta Simion, 3–6, 5–7.
In August 2021, 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, also in straight sets.
2022-2024: WTA 1000, Major and top 200 debuts and first win
She received a wildcard making her WTA 1000 debut in 2022 Miami Open before losing to Madison Brengle in the first round.
In 2023, Eala made her debut in the qualifying draw of the Australian Open but she lost her first qualifying 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 received wildcards for the main draw at the 2023 Miami Open and at the 2023 Madrid Open. 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 Asian Games, she won two bronze medals, one in the women's singles and the second in the mixed doubles with Francis Alcantara.
She received wildcards for the qualifying draw at the 2024 Miami Open, and for the main draw at the Madrid Open. During the 2024 Miami Open, she stunned former world No. 5, Sara Errani, during the first round of qualifying winning in straight sets. However, in the second round of qualifying, she suffered cramps and lost to Emiliana Arango. At the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open, she recorded her first WTA 1000 win over Lesia Tsurenko. She then lost in a tight three-set match against 27th seed Sorana Cirstea.