Alex Eala wraps up majestic tennis season with a new career-high

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

All the sweat and tears paid off for the 20-year-old Filipina ace.

Entering the 2025 professional tournament calendar as the world No. 147 WTA tennis player, Alex Eala earned her stripes, capping off her Cinderella season as the world’s No. 50-ranked netter, confirmed on Nov. 3, 2025.

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) released the new rankings, based on the players’ latest statistical points, immediately after the Hong Kong Open, Jiangxi Open, and Guangzhou Open.

With the new feat, Eala made PHL tennis history once again as the first Filipina to crack the Top 50 in the WTA rankings.

Eala improved her ranking by one place from her previous ranking (No. 51) and is now home to prepare for her upcoming campaign in the Southeast Asian Games.

The 2025 tournament season was Eala’s most fruitful year, highlighted by historic wins at the French Open, US Open, and the most memorable one at the Miami Open.

Last May, Eala made history on clay after becoming the first Filipina to win a Grand Slam main-draw match in the doubles event.

Together with her Mexican partner Renata Zarazua, the duo defeated Britain’s Emily Appleton and Spain’s Yvonne Cavallé-Reimers 7-5, 6-4 to advance to the second round of the women’s doubles tournament.

Eala also made noise in the US Open, where she became the first Filipina to win a match in a Grand Slam singles event since the Open Era was introduced.

On Aug. 25, Eala pulled off a massive comeback after clawing her way from a 1-5 deficit in the third set to shock Clara Tauson of Denmark, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11).

Eala wrapped up her US Open stint in the following round after a straight-sets loss to Spain’s Cristina Bucsa, but just like her French Open campaign, she left an everlasting impact on millions of tennis fans around the world.

Her most notable achievement was in Miami, where she took down three former Grand Slam queens: Iga Swiatek, Jelena Ostapenko, and Madison Keys.

Before calling it a year, Eala advanced to the Round of 16 in the Hong Kong Open, scoring a walkover win over Katie Boulter in the Round of 32, 6-4, 2-1.

Although it was an unfortunate ending to what could’ve been an exciting second set, Eala had already captured Boulter’s number after scoring a break point in the opening set while leading 2-1 in the next frame.

Eala formally ended her run in the Round of 16, where she squandered her early 1-0 lead to lose in three sets against Victoria Mboko, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6.