ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Alex Eala outlasts Charaeva, advances to second round in Philippine Women's Open

Alex Eala outlasts Charaeva, advances to second round in Philippine Women's Open

Published Jan 26, 2026 09:54 pm

At A Glance

  • Alex Eala made a strong statement in her title campaign at the Philippine Women's Open, carving out a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Russian Alina Charaeva in the opening round at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center on Monday night, Jan. 26.
Alex Eala. (File Photo/AP)
Alex Eala. (File Photo/AP)
Alex Eala made a strong statement in her title campaign at the Philippine Women’s Open after carving out a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Russian Alina Charaeva in the opening round at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center on Monday night, Jan. 26.
The second-seeded hometown hero didn’t disappoint the huge crowd, who went out of the venue with delight, rebounding from a 0-2 deficit in the second set before seizing control the rest of the way to spoil the Russian’s comeback attempt in their one-hour, 16-minute showdown.
With the win, the world No. 49 Eala next faces the winner between Japanese Nao Hibino and Himeno Sakatsume in the second round.
“No, I think I'm trying to take it match by match. I'm in a good moment of my career. I wanna say that I'm going up, I'm at my best ranking now,” said Eala, who had a medical timeout in the second set after experiencing an injury scare in her right leg.
“So, you know, especially playing at home, my family is able to watch me in person finally and all of you guys, lahat kayo nakapanood din sa personal, kaya tuwang-tuwa syempre,” she added.
The victory was also a redemption of sorts for Eala, who lost to Charaeva in their previous meeting in 2020 at the W15 Melilla in Spain.
It was also a fitting end to a much-anticipated evening, seeing other local bets fall earlier to their foreign counterparts.
Tennielle Madis flashed her might but ultimately lost her steam and bowed to Thai Mananchaya Sawangkaew, 4-6, 0-6, while Elizabeth Abarquez fell in straight straight sets to Japan’s Mai Hontama, 0-6, 0-6.
Two Filipina pairs also yielded in the doubles, with Kaye Emana and Justine Maneja absorbing a 2-6, 2-6 beating from Argentinean Nicole Huergo and Latvian Darja Semenistaja; and Angeline Alcala and Joanna Peña succumbing to Taiwanese Li Yu-Yun and Japanese Sara Saito, 0-6, 1-6.
Aside from Eala, Kaye Ann Emana remains the other Filipina bet in the field as she tangles with Tatiana Prozorova on Tuesday, Jan. 27.
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.