Alex Eala

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In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Maniego and the surname or paternal family name is Eala.

Alex Eala
Eala in May 2022
Full nameAlexandra Maniego Eala
ITF nameAlexandra Eala
Country (sports) Philippines
Born (2005-05-23) May 23, 2005 (age 18)
Quezon City, Philippines
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Turned proMarch 2020
PlaysLeft (two-handed backhand)
Prize moneyUS$213,299
Singles
Career record125–72 (63.5%)
Career titles4 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 169 (15 April 2024)
Current rankingNo. 170 (22 April 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQ1 (2023, 2024)
Doubles
Career record33–27 (55.0%)
Career titles2 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 243 (22 April 2024)
Current rankingNo. 243 (22 April 2024)
Medal record
Women's tennis
Representing the  Philippines
Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Hangzhou Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Hangzhou Mixed doubles
Southeast Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Vietnam Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Vietnam Mixed doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Vietnam Team
Last updated on: 22 April 2024.

Alexandra Maniego Eala (born May 23, 2005) is a Filipina professional tennis player.[1]

Eala was the No. 2-ranked ITF junior on October 6, 2020.[2] She has a career-high singles ranking by the WTA of world No. 169, achieved on 15 April 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.[3] 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 Nittany Lions.[4] She has been a student of the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor (Mallorca, Spain), since she was 12 years old.[5]

Career[edit]

Juniors[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.[6] She made her junior Grand Slam debut at the 2019 US Open.[7] She was named the 2019 Milo Junior Athlete of the Year.[8]

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.[9]

Eala peaked in the junior rankings at No. 2, after reaching the semifinals at the 2020 French Open girls' singles competition.[10]

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.[11]

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.[12]

Professional[edit]

2020-2021: First ITF title, top 1000 & WTA debuts[edit]

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.[13]

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 .[14]

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.[15]

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, in straight sets.

2022-2024: WTA 1000, Major and top 200 debuts[edit]

She received a wildcard making her WTA 1000 debut in 2022 Miami Open. She lost to Madison Brengle in the first round in straight sets.

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 2023 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[16] and at the 2023 Mutua 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.[17] 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.[18]

She received wildcards for the qualifying draw at the 2024 Miami Open, and for the main draw at the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open[19] where she recorded her first main WTA 1000 main draw win over Lesia Tsurenko.

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 2024 Madrid Open.

Tournament 2021 2022 2023 2024 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A Q1 Q1 0 / 0 0–0  – 
French Open A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Wimbledon A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
US Open A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 0 0–0  – 
WTA 1000
Dubai / Qatar Open[a] A A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Indian Wells Open A A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Miami Open Q1 1R 1R Q2 0 / 2 0–2 0%
Madrid Open A Q1 1R 2R 1 / 2 1–2 33%
Italian Open A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Canadian Open A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Cincinnati Open A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Wuhan Open NH A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
China Open NH A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Career statistics
Tournaments 1 1 3 1 Career total: 5
Overall win–loss 1–1 0–1 0–3 0 / 5 1–5 33%
Win % 50% 0% 0% Career total: 33%
Year-end ranking 529 219 205 $64,590

ITF Circuit finals[edit]

Singles: 7 (4 titles, 3 runner-ups)[edit]

Legend
W60 tournaments (0–1)
W40 tournaments (0–1)
W25 tournaments (3–1)
W15 tournaments (1–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (4–3)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Jan 2021 ITF Manacor, Spain W15 Hard Spain Yvonne Cavallé Reimers 5–7, 6–1, 6–2
Win 2–0 Apr 2022 ITF Chiang Rai, Thailand W25 Hard Thailand Luksika Kumkhum 6–4, 6–2
Loss 2–1 Jun 2022 ITF Madrid, Spain W60 Hard Spain Marina Bassols Ribera 4–6, 5–7
Win 3–1 Jun 2023 ITF Yecla, Spain W25 Hard Switzerland Valentina Ryser 6–3, 7–5
Win 4–1 Aug 2023 ITF Roehampton, United Kingdom W25 Hard Australia Arina Rodionova 6–2, 6–3
Loss 4–2 Aug 2023 ITF Aldershot, United Kingdom W25 Hard Australia Destanee Aiava 6–3, 4–6, 1–6
Loss 4–3 Nov 2023 ITF Pétange, Luxembourg W40 Hard (i) France Océane Dodin 1–6, 5–7

Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner–up)[edit]

Legend
W60/75 tournaments (1–0)
W50 tournaments (1–0)
W25 tournaments (0–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–0)
Clay (0–1)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 May 2021 ITF Platja d'Aro, Spain W25 Clay Russia Oksana Selekhmeteva Romania Oana Georgeta Simion
Lithuania Justina Mikulskytė 		3–6, 5–7
Win 1–1 Jan 2024 ITF Pune, India W50 Hard Latvia Darja Semeņistaja United Kingdom Naiktha Bains
Hungary Fanny Stollár 		7–6(8), 6–3
Win 2–1 Mar 2024 ITF Croissy-Beaubourg, France W75 Hard (i) France Estelle Cascino United Kingdom Maia Lumsden
France Jessika Ponchet 		7–5, 7–6(4)

Junior Grand Slam finals[edit]

Singles: 1 (title)[edit]

Result Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 2022 US Open Hard Czech Republic Lucie Havlíčková 6–2, 6–4

Doubles: 2 (2 titles)[edit]

Result Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 2020 Australian Open Hard Indonesia Priska Madelyn Nugroho Slovenia Živa Falkner
United Kingdom Matilda Mutavdzic		 6–1, 6–2
Win 2021 French Open Clay Russia Oksana Selekhmeteva Russia Maria Bondarenko
Hungary Amarissa Kiara Tóth		 6–0, 7–5

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]

Notes[edit]

  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 to 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 | Player Stats & More – WTA Official".
  2. ^ "Alexandra Eala". October 12, 2020 – via www.itftennis.com.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "Michael Francis Eala Overview".
  5. ^ "Alex Eala". April 11, 2022.
  6. ^ "Lilov & Eala win at Les Petits As". tenniseurope. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  7. ^ "Filipina Alex Eala makes US Open juniors debut vs tough Aussie". Philippine Daily Inquirer. September 1, 2019.
  8. ^ "Top Juniors Honored". Business Mirror. February 22, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  9. ^ "Alex Eala wins first juniors Grand Slam title in 2020 Australian Open". Rappler. January 31, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  10. ^ "Alex Eala clinches juniors world No. 2 after French Open romp". Rappler. October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ "Alex Eala reigns at US Open for first major junior girls' singles title". abs-cbn.com. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  13. ^ "Alex Eala to make pro debut in Tunisian tourney". Philstar. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  14. ^ "Alex Eala enters top 1000 in Women's Tennis Association World Ranking". msm news. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  15. ^ "Alex Eala, partner finish second place at W25 Spain". sports.inquirer.net. May 22, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  16. ^ "Erika Andreeva, Brenda Fruhvirtova awarded Miami Open wild cards". March 14, 2023.
  17. ^ "Alex Eala soars to new high in WTA rankings ahead of Asian Games". September 20, 2023.
  18. ^ Ramos, Gerry (September 29, 2023). "Eala, Alcantara win bronze on another slow day for Team Philippines". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  19. ^ "Madrid 2024: Dates, draws, prize money and everything you need to know". April 18, 2024.

External links[edit]

Sporting positions
Preceded by Orange Bowl Girls' Doubles Champion
2019
With: Belarus Evialina Laskevich 		Succeeded by
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