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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Alex Eala masterclass ends 26-year drought in women's tennis

Alex Eala masterclass ends 26-year drought in women's tennis

Published Dec 18, 2025 02:33 pm

At A Glance

  • The WTA ranked No. 53 tennis player lived up to her lofty billing and made quick work of Thai opponent Mananchaya Samangkaew, 6-1, 6-2, to end a 26-year gold medal drought in the women's singles tennis at the National Tennis Development Center in Nothonburi on Thursday, Dec. 18.
Alex Eala waves the Philippine flag after defeating her Thai opponent in the women's tennis singles final Thursday, Dec. 18. (POC Media)
Alex Eala waves the Philippine flag after defeating her Thai opponent in the women's tennis singles final Thursday, Dec. 18. (POC Media)
BANGKOK – Just a few hours after the Philippine women’s football team made history, Filipina ace Alex Eala rewrote one for herself in tennis.
The WTA ranked No. 53 tennis player lived up to her lofty billing and made quick work of Thai opponent Mananchaya Samangkaew, 6-1, 6-2, to end a 26-year gold medal drought in the women’s singles tennis at the National Tennis Development Center in Nothonburi on Thursday, Dec. 18.
Displaying the ever lethal forehand, Eala’s hits proved to be too strong for her Thai counterpart as she dictated the tempo for most of the match.
Save for a sloppy first game that saw her needing to recover from a 0-40 start, Eala was nearly flawless in the opening set, taking the last four games after a slim 2-1 lead.
Sawangkaew, who once defeated Eala in a WTA100 event in the past, finally showed some resistance in the second set and tied Eala, 2-2, early on.
But that hardly rattled the Filipina as she coolly took care of business under the sweltering heat, clinching the next four games to win the medal.
The victory ended the long wait for the Philippine tennis team after Maricris Fernandez won the last SEAG women's singles gold in 1999 in the Brunei edition.
Eala shared a warm hug with her parents after the contest. It was also a full circle moment for the Eala family as Alex’s mom once won a bronze medal in the 100-meter backstroke as part of the Philippine team in the 1986 SEA Games also in Thailand.
“It's so special. I've said many times before, yung Pinoy, we're so family-oriented. I think that's a part of our culture and SEA Games is something, I think, it's very different than the tour because it's very personal to us, personal to the Southeast Asian countries,” said Eala.
“And it's special in that way. It's unique and it doesn't happen every time. Kaya siya gano'ng ka-importante at kakahalaga sa aming country. Of course, also, my mom was medalist also,” she added.
Meanwhile, the Gilas Pilipinas women’s team advanced to the gold medal match after defeating Indonesia, 66-55, in the semifinals.
Kacey Dela Rosa continued to anchor the Filipina dribblers with 21 points and 11 rebounds while Afril Bernardino and Janine Pontejos added 14 and 10, respectively. The Nationals led by as many as 19 in the first half and never looked back from there.
The Philippine mixed team relay duathlon, consisting of Mary Joy Trupa, Franklin Yee, Erika Butos and John Ciron, clocked a total time of 1:35:35 to bag the silver.
Winning a bronze medal, meanwhile, are Charmaine Andres, Denise Dalmacio and Jylyn Nicanor in the women’s senior sabre team.
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