Alex Eala kicks off PHL Women’s Open campaign on a high note

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

There’s no better way to start a Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 125 campaign than with a win in front of a supportive home crowd.

Playing her first-ever professional tennis tournament on home soil, Alex Eala ignited the hopes of Filipino fans after dismantling Russia’s Alina Charaeva, 6-1, 6-2, to advance to the Round of 16 of the Philippine Women’s Open on Jan. 26, 2026, at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Eala’s victory also prevented an opening-day sweep for the PHL delegation after two of her kababayans, Tennielle Madis and Elizabeth Abarquez, dropped their Round of 32 matches.

After suffering a heartbreaking exit in the Australian Open, Eala walked her talk when she said she would redirect her focus to the next pro circuit she would be participating in.

Laser-focused, decisive, and more consistent with her groundstrokes, Eala took Charaeva to school after jumping quickly to a massive double-break lead, 4-1.

Charaeva attempted to salvage the sixth game of the set after dragging Eala into back-to-back long rally exchanges but fumbled her forehand return, rewarding the Filipina with an early 1-0 lead.

Filipino fans experienced a brief scare after Charaeva broke Eala’s first service game to mount a 2-0 lead, but the world No. 49 Pinay ace bounced back in convincing fashion with a 3-0 run to retake the cushion, 3-2.

Midway through the fourth game of the set, Eala finally shrugged off her unforced errors and rediscovered her first-set magic by winning 11 rally points.

After another break point and a service hold, Eala never looked back as she established a 5-2 lead that sucked the life out of the visiting Russian.

In just two sets, Eala wrapped up the Round of 32 win with 61 points won, 27 on the return, including two service aces and five break points.

“Gusto ko lang magpasalamat sa inyong lahat na nandito kayo,” Eala said during the postgame interview.

“Mahirap ibahagi yung nararamdaman ko ngayon kasi matagal ko na itong pinapangarap, so maraming salamat. I’m trying to take it match by match. I’m in a good moment of my career. Especially playing at home, my family is able to watch me in person, finally.”