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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Alex Eala wins two fan favorite awards in WTA

Alex Eala wins two fan favorite awards in WTA

Published Dec 17, 2025 02:36 pm

At A Glance

  • In a social media post, the WTA highlighted Eala's historic semifinal finish at the Miami Open as the top moment in the WTA 1000 tournament category, as well as her marathon tiebreak victory over Maya Joint at the Eastbourne Open in the WTA 250 category.
Alex Eala took the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) by storm this year, winning the ‘Moments of the Year’ award twice based on fan votes.
In a social media post, the WTA highlighted Eala’s historic semifinal finish at the Miami Open as the top moment in the WTA 1000 tournament category, as well as her marathon tiebreak victory over Maya Joint at the Eastbourne Open in the WTA 250 category.
It can be recalled that Eala turned heads at the Miami Open last March, beating Grand Slam champions Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek before losing to Jessica Pegula in the semis.
That semis appearance propelled Eala inside the Top 100 of the WTA rankings, and also opened doors to higher-ranked tournaments including direct inclusions to the main draw of the Grand Slams.
Eala’s marathon tiebreak match against Joint, meanwhile, saw her losing to the Australian teen standout, 4-6, 6-1, 10-12 in the finals.
Other fan vote winners were Venus William’s winning return in Washington in the WTA 500 category, Zheng Qinwen as WTA Fan Favorite of 2025, Jasmine Paolini as Doubles Fan Favorite of 2025, Coco Gauff and Zheng’s semifinal match in Rome as Match of the Year.
International media, meanwhile voted Belinda Bencic as the Comeback Player of the Year, Victoria Mboko as Newcomer of the Year, Amanda Asnisimova as Most Improved Player of the Year, Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova as Doubles Team of the Year, and Aryna Sabalenka as Player of the Year for the second time.
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