Alexandra Eala in numbers
South-east Asian tennis sensation Alexandra Eala won her first WTA tour-level title on Aug 3 at the Washington Open and has reached a career-high world No. 20 ranking. The Straits Times looks at other numbers that have figured in her rise.
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Alexandra Eala of the Philippines celebrating after beating Jessica Pegula of the United States to win the Washington Open on Aug 3.
PHOTO: AFP
Lin Xinyi
1
Following her breakthrough, Hall of Fame coach Rick Macci has suggested that Eala could be a future world No. 1. The American, who has worked with five players that reached the rankings summit – Andy Roddick, Jennifer Capriati, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams – had earlier predicted that Eala “will be in the top five by the end of the year”.
3
Eala became the first player to defeat the top-three seeds en route to claiming a WTA title since Barbora Krejcikova at Dubai in 2023.
The Filipina beat former world No. 4 and reigning Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in her opener before dethroning defending champion Leylah Fernandez. She then defeated world No. 10 Elina Svitolina, the second seed, overcame former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka, the third seed, and outlasted world No. 3 Jessica Pegula, the top seed.
Every opponent Eala faced in Washington was either a Major champion or a Grand Slam finalist, if not a current top-10 player.
7
Eala’s wins over Svitolina and Pegula brought her tour-leading total of top-10 victories this season to seven, tied with Svitolina and Elena Rybakina.
8
Two-time Washington champion Pegula won just eight points in the deciding set on Aug 3 as Eala completed her comeback 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the WTA 500 event.
9-4
Eala has a 9-4 career win-loss record against top-10 players at the time of their meeting.
12-10
She came close to winning her first WTA tour-level title in Eastbourne in June 2025, but fell just short in the tiebreak against Australian Maya Joint. Joint had to save four championship points to prevail in the 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (12-10) thriller.
80%
Washington Open chairman Mark Ein said that at least 80 per cent of the questions received by the tournament’s ticketing team before Eala’s opening match involved the Quezon City native. The 21-year-old has been a crowd-puller from Melbourne Park to Roland Garros and she drew the fans once again at the weather-delayed tournament.
“This might be the greatest crowd for a Monday final anyone’s ever seen,” Ein said during the trophy ceremony.
140
Eala was world No. 140 when she received a wild card for the 2025 Miami Open, where she lost to Pegula in the semi-finals. Eala’s historic run then included wins over 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys, and Iga Swiatek, now a six-time Major winner.
She was the first wild card in WTA history to defeat three Major champions in straight sets at a single tournament.
3x2
Eala has competed in two editions of the SEA Games (2022 and 2025), winning three medals each time – in singles, mixed doubles and team events. All were bronzes except for her 2025 singles gold.
She is not the first person in her family to reach the podium at the biennial Games. Her mother Rosemarie Maniego-Eala took 100m backstroke bronze at the 1985 Bangkok Games.
