Alexandra Eala has become a quick favourite in the past few months, and with her 2026 Wimbledon performance, it’s safe to say people would be rooting for her.
Early Years:
Eala’s journey began in 2020 when she won the Australian Open Girls’ Doubles with Priska Madelyn Nugroho. In 2021, she went on to win the French Open Girls’ Doubles with Oskana Selekhmeteva.
Later in 2022, she won the US Open Girls’ Singles Title and became the first Filipino to win a Grand Slam singles championship.
In the same year, Eala also represented the Philippines at the Asian Games and won a dual bronze in women’s singles and mixed doubles.
Alexandra’s journey only continued from there.
In 2025, she entered the Miami Open as a wildcard and went on to reach the semifinals, where she fell to Jessica Pegula. However, in that tournament, she went on to defeat Iga Swiatek, Madison Keys, and Jelena Ostapenko. When she made the semifinals, Alexandra was the first Filipino to reach a WTA 1000 semifinal.
In the same year, she made it to her maiden WTA Tour 250 final at Eastbourne.
Later that year, Alexandra went on to win her first WTA 125 title at Guadalajara. She finished that year ranked 50.
Eala’s Rise:
In the early months leading to Wimbledon 2026, she expanded her success by winning her second WTA 125 title at the Birmingham Open.
Apart from her Birmingham win, Alexandra made an impressive run to the semifinals at the Berlin Open, where she had notable victories over players such as Donna Vekic, Elena Rybakina, and Elina Svitolina.
At the Bad Homburg Open, Alexandra reached the second round in singles and partnered with legend Venus Williams in doubles, reaching the quarterfinals.
Heading into Wimbledon:
Alexandra entered June ranked World No. 37, and was seeded 29th at Wimbledon.
Wimbledon, she had an impressive run to the fourth round, which made her the first Filipino to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam singles in the Open era.
However, Eala handed out one very big upset during the tournament. Before heading to the fourth round, she defeated the defending champion, Iga Swiatek, in the third round.
Her campaign ended again against Jasmine Paolini in the fourth round, but it’s safe to say she won many hearts along the way.
Fast forward to now, Alexandra became the first Filipino to win a WTA singles title as she won the Mubadala DC Open (WTA 500).
She defeated top seed Jessica Pegula in a spectacular 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 comeback. The match was postponed from Sunday to Monday due to bad weather.
Initially, the start was pushed back on Sunday, when Pegula took the first set 6-4. Eala was leading 2-1 in the second set when further bad weather meant play was halted and then cancelled for the rest of the day.
Her run to the final was truly commendable. In the Round of 16, Alexandra went on to defeat defending champion Leylah Fernandez. In the quarterfinals, she defeated Elina Svitolina, and in the semifinals she swept Naomi Osaka.
Alexandra entered the tournament ranked No. 28; however, the win has pushed her into a career-high ranking of the top 20 for the first time in her career.
Her journey has been exciting so far, and it will be a landmark for Philippine tennis as she turns breakthrough titles into a sustained run among the world’s best players.
