MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala’s phenomenal rise in the tennis stratosphere is not accidental. Neither is it a case of someone who merely rode the wave of a lucky streak. 

The 19-year-old Filipina has done the groundwork from the junior ranks all the way to the pros, winning titles here and there, experiencing losses and disappointments, carrying proudly the Philippine flag. 

Each step in the journey was geared towards getting better. Every defeat added fuel to ignite her drive. Each triumph along the way served as building blocks to the overall goal of becoming a force at the highest levels of the sport. 

Here is a rundown of Eala’s best results before her improbable run in the 2025 Miami Open:

Les Petits As 

Tarbes, France; January 2018

A 12-year-old Eala received a wild card slot to what is largely considered the most prestigious under-14 tournament in the world.

Previous winners of the Les Petits As Le Mondial Lacoste include former world No. 1 players Rafael Nadal, Martina Hingis, Kim Clisters, and Juan Carlos Ferrero. Grand Slam champions Michael Chang and Jelena Ostapenko had also won the event. 

In a field that included current world No. 14 Diana Shnaider and No. 98 Erika Andreeva of Russia and former No. 49 Linda Fruhvirtová of the Czech Republic, the unseeded Eala won five  matches to book a finals spot against Czech Republic’s Linda Noskova, who now is 32nd in the world. 

Eala prevailed in three sets to bag the title and catch the attention of the Rafa Nadal Academy, who subsequently offered her a scholarship to train in Spain.

Trofeo David Ferrer

Alicante, Spain; October 2018

At 13 years old, Eala entered this under-18 tournament in Spain as the second youngest participant. 

Eala breezed through the competition in the Trofeo David Ferrer-ITF G5 Under-18 Tournament, winning all her five matches in straight sets, including a 6-2, 6-3 demolition of top seed and current world No. 69 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.

With her first under-18 title in the bag, along with five other titles and two runner-up finishes in 2018, Eala was recognized by Tennis Europe as the Best Overseas Player of the Year.

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ITF World Junior Tennis Finals

Prostejov, Czech Republic; August 2019

Eala teamed up with Alexa Joy Milliam and Jen Prulla to propel the Philippines to a fifth-place finish in the ITF World Junior Tennis finals, behind host and eventual champion Czech Republic, the United States, Canada, and Switzerland. 

This was the country’s best ever result in the girls under-14 competition.

Coached by tennis legend Czarina Arevalo, the Philippines swept the Asia-Oceania qualifying tournament held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in April to qualify for the World Group for the first time since 1993.

Australian Open juniors

Melbourne, Australia; January-February 2020

Eala renewed ties with current Indonesian No.1 Priska Nugroho and entered the 2020 Australian Open girls doubles as the fourth-seed pair.

They staged an amazing comeback in the semifinals when they stormed back from a 1-7 deficit in the third-set super tiebreak to prevail over top seeds Linda Fruhvirtová of Czech Republic and Kamilla Bartone of Latvia. 

The finals was a virtual mismatch as the Southeast Asian pair blasted Živa Falkner of Slovenia and Matilda Mutavdzic of Great Britain, 6-1, 6-2. 

With the victory, Eala gave the Philippines its first Grand Slam juniors doubles title since 2009 when Francis Casey Alcantara and his partner bagged the Australian Open boys doubles championship.

ITF W15 Manacor

Mallorca, Spain; January 2021

Eala gained entry to the ITF $15,000 event as a junior reserve player. She was the lowest seed and the youngest participant in the tournament at 15 years old. 

She prevailed over 28-year-old veteran and home bet Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2, in the finals, earning for herself her first championship in the pros. 

French Open juniors

Paris, France; May-June 2021

Top seeds Eala and Russian partner Oksana Selekhmeteva lived up to their billing as tournament favorites by emerging French Open girls doubles champions. 

Eala and Selekhmeteva clinched the title in dominant fashion, winning all their five matches without dropping a set. The finals was a blowout with Eala and Selekhmeteva prevailing 6-0, 7-5 over Maria Bondarenko of Russia and Amarissa Kiara Tóth of Hungary.

With her second Grand Slam doubles title in the bag, Eala became just the fifth Asian to win multiple Grand Slam junior doubles titles.

US Open juniors

New York, USA; August-September 2022

Eala was practically untouchable all tournament long as she blasted all her opponents in straight sets. 

Seeded 10th in the event, Eala turned back a number of fancied bets — eighth seed Taylah Preston in the third round (6-2, 7-6), fourth seed and current world No. 7 Mirra Andreeva of Russia in the quarterfinals (6-4, 6-0), and ninth seed Victoria Mboko of Canada in the final four (6-1, 7-6).

The Filipina ace capped off her impressive week with a 6-2, 6-4 triumph in the finals over second seed Lucie Havlíčková of the Czech Republic for her first singles crown in the junior Grand Slam.

Eala tied China’s Wang Xiyu as the second winningest Asian in the junior Grand Slams with one singles and two doubles titles, just behind Thailand’s Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, who owns one singles and three doubles crowns.

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Asian Games

Hangzhou, China; September 2023

The Philippines was looking to end decades of futility in the Asian Games, and Eala stood at the forefront of the country’s campaign when she won bronzes in women’s singles and mixed doubles.

The last time the country bagged medals in the quadrennial event was in the 2006 Qatar Asian Games when Cecil Mamiit won bronze in men’s singles and another bronze in men’s doubles with Eric Taino.

The last medals in women’s tennis were earned in the 1966 Bangkok edition when Patricia Yngayo and Desideria Ampon clinched the doubles silver. Yngayo earned another silver that year in mixed doubles with Federico Deyro.

Eala teamed up with Francis Alcantara to snare the bronze in the mixed doubles, just a day after she reached the semifinals of the women’s singles to end the country’s medal drought. 

ITF W100 Open Araba en Femenino

Vitoria Gasteiz, Spain; July 2024

Before the WTA Miami Open this March, Eala’s shining moment in the pro circuit happened at the Peña Vitoriana Tenis Club in Vitoria Gasteiz, Spain.

She won her third ITF doubles title when she and Estelle Cascino of France, the No. 3 seeds of the event, eked out a thrilling 6-3, 2-6, 10-4 victory over Lia Karatancheva of Bulgaria and Diana Marcinkevica of Latvia in the finals.

It was the second doubles title won by Eala and Cascino as partners. Four months earlier, the duo bagged the championship of the ITF W75 Croissy-Beaubourg in France. 

Eala also won the biggest singles title of her career in Vitoria Gasteiz. The Filipina downed former world juniors No. 1 Victoria Jiménez Kasintseva of Andorra in the finals, 6-4, 6-4. 

– Rappler.com