SEA Games 2025: Filipina tennis sensation Alexandra Eala relishes Asean challenge
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Philippine flag bearers Bryan Bagunas (left) and Alexandra Eala at the opening ceremony of the SEA Games in Bangkok on Dec 9.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- Filipino tennis starlet Alexandra Eala is competing at the SEA Games in the women's singles, team and mixed doubles.
- Driven by her family's SEA Games heritage and national pride, she is aiming for a gold medal.
- Eala, who broke into the top 50 in November after high-profile victories, is striving to reach her dream of winning Grand Slams and becoming world No. 1 while managing increased fame and media attention.
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SINGAPORE – After a spectacular breakthrough year, rising tennis star Alexandra Eala is primed to make waves on the sport’s biggest stage.
But the 20-year-old has no qualms committing to the relative tennis backwater of the SEA Games, despite having made history on the world arena.
She stormed into the final of the women’s singles event on Dec 16 with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Thai Thasaporn Naklo and set up a decider against another Thai, Mananchaya Sawangkaew, who won her last-four clash after Indonesia’s 54th-ranked Janice Tjen retired while trailing 4-6.
She is also in the mixed doubles semi-finals, after picking up a women’s team bronze on Dec 13.
After teaming up with Francis Alcantara to beat Singapore’s Daniel Abadia and Deanne Choo 6-4, 6-3 in the mixed doubles quarter-finals at the National Tennis Development Center in Nonthaburi on Dec 15, Eala told The Straits Times she disagreed with the sentiment that the regional Games are inferior to events on the WTA Tour.
Eala, who has bronzes in the same events from Hanoi in 2022, said: “I feel the level is very high, very competitive. Being from a South-east Asian country, the SEA Games is something a lot of people look forward to and are excited to compete in.
“Playing with the team for your country is always a very special experience and that’s why I’m here.”
The Quezon City native has SEA Games heritage in her family, as her mother Rizza Maniego was a women’s 100m backstroke bronze medallist at the 1985 Games, after being trained by Eala’s grandfather, a sports aficionado.
Ever the competitor, she is aiming to do better than her mum and become the first SEA Games champion in her family.
The Philippines’ flag bearer at these Games, alongside volleyball player Bryan Bagunas, said: “I would love to win a gold medal, but I’m trying to take it match by match. It’s a very competitive field this year, so I’m not taking it easy at all and I will try my best.”
Interestingly, Eala’s grandfather – affectionately known as Lolo Bob – took her to the tennis court instead of the pool when she was four.
“I think he tried different sports with my older brother (Miko) and he stuck with tennis, and so when the time came for me to try a sport, that’s what they brought me into as well.”
From Makati, a 13-year-old Eala moved to Manacor with her older brother Miko in 2018 to train at the Rafa Nadal Academy, where she honed her flat and lethal lefty forehand groundstrokes.
She went on to win the 2020 Australian Open girls’ doubles title with Indonesian Priska Nugroho, and then the 2021 French Open girls’ doubles title with Russian Oksana Selekhmeteva, before claiming the US Open girls’ singles crown in 2022.
Eala then exploded into life in 2025, when she became the first wild card in history to defeat three Major champions (Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek) in straight sets at a single WTA event when she reached the Miami Open semi-finals
She also became the first Filipino to win a Grand Slam singles match at the US Open
Eala further endeared herself to her home fans as she went viral for uttering a Filipino expletive during the US Open win against Denmark’s Clara Tauson, though she playfully told ST: “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know which one you’re referring to.”
Her Instagram followership has grown six-fold to 768,000 and she has to field loads more media and sponsorship requests, all of which she takes in her stride with a smile.
Even as she strives to reach her dream of winning Grand Slams and becoming world No. 1, it looks like Eala is staying true to herself from the way she made time for local and international media and around 30 Filipino fans who braved the searing sun to cheer Alcantara and her on with shouts of “Filipinas laban!” (Philippines, fight!).
“It definitely has its moments, but it’s such a blessing to be getting all of this love and support, which not a lot of people have the privilege of experiencing,” she said.
“Although it does come with its vices, like every other profession in the world, I consider myself super fortunate to be in this position.
“I have so many things to work on and there’s just a lot of room for improvement, which I think is also a good sign. Hopefully, 2026 is a very fruitful year for me and filled with happiness.”
