Alex Eala: The Young Athlete Putting the PH on the Global Tennis Map

You’ve probably heard of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz’s Olympic gold win, pole vaulter EJ Obiena’s record-breaking accomplishments that ranked him third in the world, or the Philippine Women’s National Football Team winning their first AFF Women's Championship title and qualifying for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic getting in the way, it has been a few good years for some of the country’s athletes. But the list doesn’t stop there. Another Filipino athlete — a teenager at that — is making a name for herself worldwide in the field of tennis.

Meet Alexandra Maniego Eala, or Alex Eala, the 17-year-old tennis player who’s currently the highest-ranked Filipino singles player in Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour history. She’s also the first-ever Filipino to win a junior Grand Slam singles championship and multiple junior Grand Slam titles.

Growing Up in a Sports-Loving Family

Alex’s love for sports runs in the family. Her mom, Rosemarie “Rizza” Maniego-Eala, who’s the CFO of Globe Telecom (one of Alex’s sponsors), was a national swimmer. She won a bronze medal for finishing third in the 100-meter backstroke women’s event at the 1985 Southeast Asian Games, held in Bangkok, Thailand.

Her older brother Michael Francis “Miko” Eala is also a tennis player who graduated from Rafa Nadal International School (where Alex is also a scholar) in Mallorca, Spain, and is currently playing for Pennsylvania State University.

Meanwhile, her dad Mike Eala has been her greatest supporter and cheerleader. “As much as I can, I come with her. And most of the time, whenever I travel with her, it's not for the win, it is mostly for the loss,” Mike shared with Spin.ph Life.

“The win is easy. When she wins, everybody’s out there saying congratulations and that’s not a problem. The problem is when she loses, she’s still a kid and I think this is when kids need our support the most.”

Falling in Love Deeper With Tennis

Alex started playing tennis at the young age of four and she wouldn’t be the athlete that she is today without the early support of her maternal grandfather, the late Roberto “Bobby” Maniego.

In an interview with Vogue Philippines, Alex shared that it was her brother who first forayed into tennis in her family. At first, it was a simple bonding activity between siblings and their grandfather who wanted to see his grandkids more often. But, as the two got into the sport deeper, the family reached a point where they had to discuss Alex and Miko’s future. According to Mike Eala, their grandfather asked what they want (to achieve) from tennis. They decided to aim for a college scholarship and become a pro if fate would have it. Even so, Alex had her eyes on going professional.

In 2018, Alex joined the world's most prestigious junior tennis tournament, the “Les Petits As-Le Mondial Lacoste,” as a wild card and won against Czech Republic’s Linda Nosková in the finals. This made her the first-ever wild card champion of the series, which led to a few more competitions months after. This year was also when the Rafa Nadal Academy took notice of Alex (and Miko) and offered them a scholarship.

Being a Proud Filipino on the World Stage

Alex was already making noise with all her historic wins following her enrollment in Rafa Nadal Academy, but the left-handed netter’s name made bigger rounds on social media and local mainstream media after winning her first junior singles title at the 2022 US Open. Her speech, which she started in English then in Tagalog, sparked the #PinoyPride spirit in many Filipinos worldwide.

“Yeah, that speech got a lot of attention, I heard,” she said in a WTA Tennis interview published on Nov. 30. “It's important to me because I don't see a lot of Filipinos on the worldwide tennis stage. I think we're very patriotic and we love our culture, and that's how I grew up too – being proud of our traditions and whatnot. So I'm just carrying that part of my personality on to the court and into my career.”

As of writing, Alex’s ranking is 217 and the highest she has achieved so far in her career is 214. It’s still unclear whether she’ll make her Grand Slam qualifying debut at the Australian Open in January 2023, but for sure all eyes will be on her once she does.