I want to keep maturing, says Filipino star Eala

SHE WAS RANKED NO 147 AT START OF 2025 BEFORE RISING TO TOP 50

- BY JAI PRASAD V. RAI

Alexandra Eala during a training session in Abu Dhabi.

Alexandra “Alex” Eala may be just 20 years old, but the Filipino tennis sensation is already carving out her place among the elite on the women's tour. Fresh off a breakthrough season that saw her become the first Filipina to crack the WTA Top 50, Eala insists her journey is only beginning.

“I want to keep maturing. I want to hopefully go a little higher in the rankings,” she said ahead of her opening match at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open at the International Tennis Centre in Zayed Sports City, where she played Turkish wildcard Zeynep Sonmez in Round of 32. “But the higher you get, the steeper the mountain is.”

When Eala steps onto the court this evening, it will mark a full-circle moment. Abu Dhabi is where her WTA 500 journey began — and now, two years on, she returns with a chance to write the next chapter in one of tennis’ most compelling rise stories.