NEW GOLDEN ERA PER

Sustained world-class performance. Historic breakthroughs. Easily, these are the cornerstones of Philippine sports in 2025, a year of unprecedented global ascendancy and diversified excellence.

- BY THE STAR SPORTS STAFF

Gymnast Carlos Yulo and netter Alex Eala were the lead guns, with their achievements, along with other groundbreaking victories, signifying further rise of Filipino sporting warriors.

Yulo, extending his glorious reign, and Eala, breaking barriers, serve as powerful symbols of the new golden era characterized, not just by more breakthroughs, but successes that would be inspiration for the next generation.

From the start of the year to the very end, Filipino athletes delivered - on ice, atop the ring, on the mat, on the green felt table, on the hard court, on the fairways, on the pitch, etc. And it's not just about milestone victories but gold marks for the country in hosting world championships.

In essence, these were the headline acts that encapsulated a year where Philippine sports firmly established itself as a force to be reckoned with globally and regionally across multiple fronts.

And these were the 2025 headline stories.

QUEEN ALEXANDRA REIGNS

Twenty years young, Alex Eala ascended the top echelons of the tennis world, netting a bevy of firsts in a relentless drive that put the Philippines on the world map.

Name it: a string of wins against former and reigning major champions, a maiden title, a Grand Slam qualification feat paired with a main draw win and a Top 50-ranking for the first time ever for the Philippines. Eala had it all in a glorious run capped by a gold-medal feat in the Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand.

"Para sa Pilipinas at para sa Pilipino. Uuwi akong may pasalubong sa bayan," beamed Eala after delivering the country's first SEAG tennis women's singles gold since Maricris Fernandez in 1999 in Brunei.

And that's the cherry on top of her banner year.

After a series of quick exits in the WTA Tour, Eala started to make giant strides in March, essaying a Cinderella run at the Miami Open, a WTA 1000 tourney.