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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Crowd sweetheart Alex Eala emerges as busiest player on Tour

Crowd sweetheart Alex Eala emerges as busiest player on Tour

Published Aug 13, 2026 01:47 pm

At A Glance

  • Alex Eala's continued rise on the global tennis scene, along with her steady climb in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings, can be traced to one simple approach: play as much as she can.
(Alex Eala / Instagram)
(Alex Eala / Instagram)
Alex Eala’s continued rise on the global tennis scene, along with her steady climb in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings, can be traced to one simple approach: play as much as she can.
The 21-year-old Eala turned out to be the busiest player in the women's field after playing 56 matches which include her historic maiden Tour title in the WTA 500 Mubadala D.C. Open in Washington, D.C.
Eala, now ranked No. 20, competed more than 50 times since the start of the season, notching 37 wins and 19 defeats with the most recent coming from a 4-6, 0-6 loss to Swiss Belinda Bencic in the Last 16 of the WTA 1000 National Bank Open.
Her record includes big wins over high-ranked netters in Americans Jessica Pegula (No. 3) and Coco Gauff (No. 4), Polish Iga Swiatek (No. 8), Ukrainian Elina Svitolina (No. 9), and Kazakh Elena Rybakina (No. 2).
Eala now has a 9-4 record against Top 10 players. She also beat former world No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka of Japan, 6-4, 6-2, in the D.C Open semis.
The Southeast Games champion has also beaten all podium finishers in the 2024 Paris Olympics in China’s Zheng Qingwen, Croatian Donna Vekic, and Iga Swiatek.
Eala soared in the WTA Finals race where she is currently at No. 14.
Aside from Eala, Svitolina (52), Pegula (51), Rybakina (50), Mirra Andreeva (50), and German Tatjana Maria (50) were also having hectic calendars. She even outworked No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka (45).
The number of matches Eala has played significantly increased as she gained access to Challenger-level tournaments, particularly WTA 125 events, which are designed for lower-ranked players and generally restrict Top 10 players from entering.
Among the WTA 125 tournaments she competed in were the inaugural Philippine Women’s Open and the Birmingham Open, where the 5-foot-9 Filipina captured her second WTA 125 title.
The charming lefty is currently preparing for her upcoming campaign as the No. 17 seed in the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open in Mason, Ohio this week.

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