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If Filipina tennis star Alex Eala could go back in time and show her younger self what the future was like, she’s pretty sure what the 12-year-old would say.
Based on her own recollection, the last time Alex Eala set foot on the Rizal Memorial tennis courts was eight years ago, right before she hit her teens.
Much has happened since then. Eala went on to train at the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy in Mallorca, Spain, win three junior grand slams and make Philippine history many times over with her exploits on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tour.
Now 20 and ranked in the top 50, Alex Eala will have a full-circle moment in the coming days when the WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open, the first-ever WTA-sanctioned tennis tournament to be held in the Philippines, gets going on the very same courts where her 12-year-old self was training in earnest eight years ago.
And what does she think her younger version would say about present-day Alex’s phenomenal rise to stardom?
“I think she would just be so happy,” she said during a media session on Saturday afternoon. “Because at 12, I was really already training a lot. Every day, I was on the court and I really loved it.
“And I think deep down, she knew that one day, all of this would happen. But to be able to experience it for real and see all of it come to life is very full circle and very emotional for me.”
‘Surreal’ moment
After she became the first Filipino tennis player to win a singles match at a grand slam tournament at the 2025 US Open, Alex Eala mentioned in an interview that she wished she had a home tournament.
That wish has finally come true. Eala, seeded second in the 32-woman field, will take on Alin Charaeva in her opening match on Monday when the historic PWO main draw finally gets underway.
“It’s so, so, so surreal to have a home tournament and to see it come to life,” she said. “And I’m so grateful and so a little in disbelief that it’s actually happening. I feel that this dream was so far away. But it’s happened, it’s started, the matches have started. So I’m so happy to be here, sleeping in my bed with my family. So it’s so nice.”
The home crowd has already made their presence felt. As early as last week, tickets for the semifinals and finals were already sold out, and fans came in droves to watch her practice on Saturday morning.
Eala’s meteoric rise last year has given the country the tennis hero it has yearned for all these years, and she hopes tournaments like the PWO are held more often in the Philippines for both the enjoyment and the education of local tennis fans.
“I think this is a good platform for people to start to know more about tennis. Without us having had that much success, you know, at this level in tennis in the recent years, you know, it’s kind of not had a lot of spark or, you know, not many people know about it.
“Not many people know the scoring system. So I think this whole tournament in general and people really coming out and seeing tennis in person, it’s a really different experience to watch tennis as compared to other sports in my opinion. It’s an individual sport, there’s a lot of tension when things are tight and when things are, you have a moment where nobody’s talking and you can just hear the ball.
“I think it’s a different experience. So I’m happy that Pinoys are now able to be exposed to that in person.”
From Australian Open to Philippine Women’s Open
Eala’s Australian Open debut lasted just one match, but it generated so much buzz that it even prompted Novak Djokovic to weigh in.
Alex fell to Alycia Parks in three sets, much to the disappointment of the overwhelmingly pro-Eala crowd in a jampacked, low seating capacity Court 6. Thousands of Filipino fans were left stranded outside the playing venue, which could only accommodate 1,500.
Organizers came under flak for this oversight, as they apparently grossly underestimated Eala’s popularity. But she was moved by the support she received from other players, including Djokovic, a 10-time Australian Open winner who said that Alex drawing huge crowds was “a good problem to have.”
“You could argue that it was maybe a poor schedule and maybe they could schedule him on a bigger court,” the Serbian star added.
“So much gratitude,” was Eala’s reply to those comments. “I mean, it’s so crazy to see this community rallying behind me. And the support in the end has led to milestones like this, a home tournament for the Filipinos.
“I like to think that people are really starting to get into tennis and are really interested in helping the sport and making it grow here. There’s a lot of fans that have come out, but for a lot of them it’s going to be their first time watching a tennis game live.”
Of course, one advantage of Alex’s early exit in Melbourne is that she will get to compete in the Philippine Women’s Open. And while she’s seeded second and will have the full support of what is expected to be a raucous home crowd, Eala refuses to think that the tournament is hers to lose.
“I think the fact that this is happening and the fact that I’m able to have a match at home is really the focus of this tournament,” she said. “And the fact that there are so many Filipinos in the draw, that’s the focus and the highlight of this week for me more than winning the whole thing.
“Going into any tournament whatsoever, I never go in expecting to win the whole thing. So although this is at home, my mindset in that sense is no different. So I take it match by match. I’ll do everything I can to win my first one. But if not, it is what it is. That’s tennis. You can’t win all the time.”
There was some controversy about the conduct of Filipino fans in Melbourne, after some of them ignored established tennis etiquette. When asked if she had a message for local fans who will be watching her live, she had this to say:
“I think just to enjoy mindfully. I think just to be respectful to the players and to try to absorb as much as you can from this experience. It doesn’t happen very often here, as you know. I don’t think it’s ever happened before.
“So I think if you keep an open mind and you enjoy while doing that, that’s the best thing that you can do.”
Images courtesy of PHILTA/Philippine Women’s Open