Alex Eala – Wikipedia

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Filipina tennis player

Alex Eala
Alex Eala.jpg

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Eala in 2022
Full name Alexandra Maniego Eala
ITF name Alexandra Eala
Country (sports)  Philippines
Born (2005-05-23) May 23, 2005 (age 17)
Quezon City, Philippines
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Turned pro March 2020
Plays Left (two-handed backhand)
Prize money US$ 82,775
Career record 68–39 (63.6%)
Career titles 2 ITF
Highest ranking No. 214 (October 31, 2022)
Current ranking No. 219 (March 20, 2023)
Australian Open Q1 (2023)
Career record 10–12 (45.5%)
Career titles 0
Highest ranking No. 523 (March 20, 2023)
Current ranking No. 523 (March 20, 2023)
Last updated on: January 30, 2023.

Alexandra Eala (born May 23, 2005) is a Filipino tennis player.

Eala was the No. 2-ranked ITF junior on October 6, 2020.[1] She has a career-high singles ranking by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) of 214, achieved on October 31, 2022. 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.[2] 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[edit]

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.[3]
She has been a student of the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar in Manacor (Mallorca, Spain), since she was 12 years old.[4]

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Junior career[edit]

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[edit]

At the age of 12, Eala won the 2018 Les Petit As 14-and-under tournament, beating Linda Nosková in the finals.[5] She made her junior Grand Slam debut at the 2019 US Open.[6] She was named the 2019 Milo Junior Athlete of the Year. [7]

2020: First junior doubles title[edit]

Eala won the 2020 Australian girls’ doubles event, partnering Priska Madelyn Nugroho. They defeated Živa Falkner and Matilda Mutavdzic in the final.[8]

Eala peaked in the junior rankings at No. 2, after reaching the semifinals at the 2020 French Open girls’ singles competition.[9]

2021: Second junior doubles title[edit]

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.[10]

2022: First junior Grand Slam singles title[edit]

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.[11]

Professional career[edit]

2020: Professional career debut[edit]

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.[12]

2021: First ITF senior title, top 1000 & WTA debut[edit]

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.[13]

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.[14]

In August, she made her WTA Tour main-draw debut in 2021 Winners Open in Cluj-Napoca, Romania by receiving a wildcard. On her first match, she defeated Paula Ormaechea in straight sets. On her next match, she lost to Mayar Sherif, in straight sets.

2022: Masters 1000 debut[edit]

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 debut[edit]

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.

Performance timeline[edit]

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# P# DNQ A Z# PO G S B NMS NTI P NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player’s participation has ended.

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[edit]

Current after the 2023 Thailand Open.

ITF Circuit finals[edit]

Singles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)[edit]

Legend
$100,000 tournaments
$80,000 tournaments
$60,000 tournaments (0–1)
$25,000 tournaments (1–0)
$15,000 tournaments (1–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–1)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Jan 2021 ITF Manacor, Spain 15,000 Hard Spain Yvonne Cavallé Reimers 5–7, 6–1, 6–2
Win 2–0 Apr 2022 ITF Chiang Rai, Thailand 25,000 Hard Thailand Luksika Kumkhum 6–4, 6–2
Loss 2–1 Jun 2022 ITF Madrid Open, Spain 60,000 Hard Spain Marina Bassols Ribera 4–6, 5–7

Doubles: 1 (runner–up)[edit]

Legend
$100,000 tournaments
$80,000 tournaments
$60,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$15,000 tournaments
Finals by surface
Hard (0–0)
Clay (0–1)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)

Junior Grand Slam finals[edit]

Singles: 1 (title)[edit]

Doubles: 2 (2 titles)[edit]

ITF Junior finals[edit]

Legend
Grade A
Grade 1
Grade 2
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5

Singles 9 (4 titles, 5 runner-ups)[edit]

Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Jul 2018 ITF Jakarta, Indonesia G4 Hard Indonesia Priska Madelyn Nugroho 2–6, 6–4, 1–6
Win 1–1 Oct 2018 ITF Alicante, Spain G5 Clay Spain Jéssica Bouzas Maneiro 6–2, 6–3
Win 2–1 Nov 2018 ITF Makati City, Philippines G4 Clay Canada Dasha Plekhanova 6–4, 6–2
Loss 2–2 Nov 2018 ITF Manila, Philippines G4 Clay Indonesia Janice Tjen 3–6, 6–2, 5–7
Loss 2–3 Jan 2019 ITF New Delhi, India G2 Hard Italy Federica Sacco 5–7, 3–6
Loss 2–4 Jan 2019 ITF Kolkata, India G2 Clay Thailand Mai Napatt Nirundorn 6–2, 3–6, 2–6
Win 3–4 Sep 2019 ITF Cape Town, South Africa GA Hard Czech Republic Linda Fruhvirtová 6–3, 6–3
Loss 3–5 Oct 2019 ITF Osaka, Japan GA Hard France Diane Parry 2–6, 4–6
Win 4–5 Jul 2021 ITF Milan, Italy GA Clay Czech Republic Nikola Bartůňková 6–3, 6–3

Doubles 5 (3 titles, 2 runner-ups)[edit]

Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Oct 2018 ITF Alicante, Spain G5 Clay Germany Joelle Lilly Sophie Steur Russia Maria Dzemeshkevich
United Kingdom Lily Hutchings 		6–2, 6–2
Loss 1–1 Jun 2019 ITF Offenbach, Germany G1 Clay Australia Annerly Poulos France Selena Janicijevic
France Carole Monnet 		4–6, 2–6
Loss 1–2 Sep 2019 ITF Cape Town, South Africa G2 Hard United States Elvina Kalieva Poland Weronika Baszak
United Kingdom Matilda Mutavdzic 		3–6, 6–4, [3–10]
Win 2–2 Dec 2019 ITF Plantation, United States GA Clay Belarus Evialina Laskevich Canada Jada Bui
Canada Melodie Collard 		6–3, 6–7(3), [10–5]
Win 3–2 Jul 2021 ITF Milan, Italy GA Clay United States Madison Sieg Croatia Lucija Ciric Bagaric
Belgium Sofia Costoulas 		6–4, 4–6, [13–11]
  1. ^ The first Premier 5 event of the year has switched back and forth between the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Open since 2009. Dubai was classified as a Premier 5 event from 2009–2011 before being succeeded by Doha for the 2012–2014 period. In 2015, Dubai regained its Premier 5 status while Doha was demoted to Premier status. The Premier 5 tournaments were reclassified as WTA 1000 tournaments in 2021.

References[edit]

  1. ^ “Alexandra Eala”. October 12, 2020 – via www.itftennis.com.
  2. ^ Mina, Rosy (September 11, 2022). “Alex Eala reigns at US Open for first major junior girls’ singles title”. ABS-CBN News. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  3. ^ “Michael Francis Eala Overview”.
  4. ^ “Alex Eala”. April 11, 2022.
  5. ^ “Lilov & Eala win at Les Petits As”. tenniseurope. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  6. ^ “Filipina Alex Eala makes US Open juniors debut vs tough Aussie”. Philippine Daily Inquirer. September 1, 2019.
  7. ^ “Top Juniors Honored”. Business Mirror. February 22, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  8. ^ “Alex Eala wins first juniors Grand Slam title in 2020 Australian Open”. Rappler. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  9. ^ “Alex Eala clinches juniors world No. 2 after French Open romp”. Rappler. October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  10. ^ “Alex Eala wins Grand Slam on Independence Day: ‘I hope I made my contribution to the country’“. Inquirer.net. June 12, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  11. ^ “Alex Eala reigns at US Open for first major junior girls’ singles title”. abs-cbn.com. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  12. ^ “Alex Eala to make pro debut in Tunisian tourney”. Philstar. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  13. ^ “Alex Eala enters top 1000 in Women’s Tennis Association World Ranking”. msm news. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  14. ^ “Alex Eala, partner finish second place at W25 Spain”. sports.inquirer.net. May 22, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.

External links[edit]


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