Alexandra Eala
Alexandra "Alex" Eala, 21, is the Philippines' first star of the WTA Tour: a left-hander from Quezon City trained at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, career-high No. 18 in August 2026 after winning the Washington Open and reaching the Wimbledon fourth round. Ranked around No. 19, she reached the Tokyo Pan Pacific Open quarterfinals but lost to Diana Shnaider 2-6 7-6(5) 6-4 on October 30, 2026, after leading 5-3 in the second-set tie-break.
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Where does Alexandra Eala live?
Alexandra Eala has been based in Spain since her early teens, at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor, Mallorca, which she joined as a scholar around age 13 and graduated from in 2023. In 2026 she still trains there between tournaments, and was photographed hitting with Rafael Nadal himself at the academy in early 2026. Her family home is in Metro Manila, Philippines. She does not publicise a private address. Sources: Wikipedia, Philstar, Gulf News, Tennis365.
What is Alexandra Eala's nationality?
Alexandra Eala is Filipino. She was born in Quezon City, Philippines, and represents the Philippines on the WTA Tour, at the Asian Games and at the SEA Games, where she won singles gold in 2025. She is the highest-ranked Filipino player in WTA history. Sources: WTA, Wikipedia.
How old is Alexandra Eala?
Alexandra Eala was born on May 23, 2005, in Quezon City, which makes her 21 years old as of October 2026. Sources: WTA, Wikipedia.
How tall is Alexandra Eala?
Alexandra Eala is 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) tall, according to her WTA profile. She is left-handed and plays a two-handed backhand. Sources: WTA, Wikipedia.
What is Alexandra Eala's ranking?
She is ranked around No. 19 in the world in late October 2026 (Sofascore lists No. 19, the Manila Times No. 20). Her career-high is No. 18, reached on August 24, 2026, after her Washington title and a US Open build-up. She first entered the top 100 on March 31, 2025, at No. 75. Sources: Wikipedia, Sofascore, Manila Times.
How is Alexandra Eala doing in Tokyo 2026?
At the Toray Pan Pacific Open (WTA 500) in Tokyo, she beat Mika Stojsavljevic 6-1 6-2, then came back to beat Talia Gibson 4-6 6-2 6-0, firing a career-high nine aces. That set up a quarterfinal on Friday, October 30 against No. 3 seed Diana Shnaider, who had beaten her 7-5 6-4 in Ningbo the week before. Eala took the first set 6-2 and led 5-3 in the second-set tie-break, two points from the semifinals, but a double fault turned the match. Shnaider won 2-6 7-6(5) 6-4 after 2 hours 52 minutes, closing it out with an ace. The two players hit 88 winners between them (45 for Eala, 43 for Shnaider). Sources: WTA, Inquirer, GMA Network, Tennis Now, Just Women's Sports.
What titles has Alexandra Eala won?
Her biggest title is the 2026 Washington Open (WTA 500), where she beat top seed Jessica Pegula in the final. She has also won two WTA 125 events, Guadalajara 2025 and Birmingham 2026, and five ITF singles titles, the largest being the W100 in Vitoria-Gasteiz (2024). As a junior she won the 2022 US Open girls' singles, the first junior Grand Slam singles title for a Filipino, plus girls' doubles at the 2020 Australian Open and 2021 French Open. Sources: WTA, Wikipedia.
What happened at the 2025 Miami Open with Alexandra Eala?
It was her breakthrough. Ranked No. 140 and playing on a wildcard, she beat three Grand Slam champions, Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Świątek, to reach the semifinals, where she lost to Jessica Pegula. She became the first Filipino to reach a WTA 1000 semifinal, and the run took her into the top 100 for the first time. Sources: WTA, Wikipedia.
What is Alexandra Eala's best Grand Slam result?
The fourth round of Wimbledon 2026, where she beat Iga Świątek in the third round before losing to Jasmine Paolini. It made her the first Filipino to reach the second week of a Grand Slam singles draw in the Open Era. She then reached the third round of the 2026 US Open. Sources: Wikipedia, WTA.
Did Alexandra Eala win a medal at the 2026 Asian Games?
Yes, bronze in singles at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, after losing her semifinal in three sets to eventual champion Wang Xiyu. It is her second Asian Games singles bronze after 2022. She said afterwards that she still aims to play the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Sources: Olympics.com, Wikipedia.
Who is Alexandra Eala's coach?
Belgian coach Alexandro "Sandro" Viaene became her main coach ahead of the 2025 season, and Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal's uncle and former coach, joined her team from the 2025 Miami Open. Her fitness work is supervised by Lluc Bauzá. Her first coach was her maternal grandfather, Roberto Maniego. Sources: Wikipedia, Tennis Majors.
Who are Alexandra Eala's parents?
Her father, Michael Eala, is a business executive. Her mother, Rosemarie Maniego-Eala, was chief financial officer of Globe Telecom until 2024 and a former national swimmer who won a 1985 SEA Games bronze in the 100 m backstroke. Her older brother Miko Eala played college tennis for Penn State. Sources: Wikipedia, Khaleej Times.
Did Alex Eala beat Diana Shnaider in Tokyo?
No. In the Tokyo quarterfinal on October 30, 2026, Eala lost to No. 3 seed Diana Shnaider 2-6 7-6(5) 6-4 in 2 hours 52 minutes. She won the first set, then led 5-3 in the second-set tie-break before a double fault let Shnaider back in; Shnaider sealed the match with an ace and called it a match that "deserved to be a final". Shnaider moved on to a semifinal against Mia Pohankova on October 31. Sources: WTA, Just Women's Sports, Tennis Tonic.
What is the head-to-head between Eala and Shnaider?
Shnaider leads 2-0. Both matches came in back-to-back weeks in October 2026: Shnaider won 7-5 6-4 in Ningbo, then 2-6 7-6(5) 6-4 in the Tokyo quarterfinals. Both are left-handers born in 2004-2005, so the rivalry is likely to come back. Sources: WTA, Tennis Tonic.
Alexandra “Alex” Eala is the player who put the Philippines on the tennis map. Born on May 23, 2005, in Quezon City, she was first coached by her grandfather, then left for Spain as a young teenager to join the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor, Mallorca, where she still trains. A 1.75 m left-hander with a two-handed backhand, she won the 2022 US Open girls’ singles title, a first for a Filipino, and gold in singles at the 2025 SEA Games.
Her breakthrough on the main tour came at the 2025 Miami Open: ranked No. 140 and on a wildcard, she beat Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Świątek to reach the semifinals. It sent her into the top 100 and made her a national celebrity at home, where her matches now draw huge television and streaming audiences.
2026 has been her best season. She added a second WTA 125 title in Birmingham, after Guadalajara in 2025, reached the Berlin semifinals as a wildcard with wins over Elena Rybakina and Elina Svitolina, then went to the fourth round of Wimbledon, beating Świątek again. In Washington she won her first WTA 500 title, defeating top seed Jessica Pegula in the final, and on August 24 she climbed to a career-high No. 18. She followed that with a third round at the US Open and singles bronze at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.
The autumn swing has been harder, with early losses in Wuhan and Ningbo, where Diana Shnaider beat her 7-5 6-4. In Tokyo she bounced back, beating Mika Stojsavljevic and Talia Gibson to set up a quarterfinal rematch with Shnaider on October 30. She took the first set 6-2 and led 5-3 in the second-set tie-break, but lost 2-6 7-6(5) 6-4 after 2 hours 52 minutes, in a match Shnaider said “deserved to be a final”. Ranked around No. 19, coached by Sandro Viaene with Toni Nadal in her team, she ends 2026 as the highest-ranked Filipino in WTA history and with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as a stated goal. Sources: WTA, Wikipedia, Inquirer, GMA Network, Olympics.com, Philstar, Tennis Now, Just Women’s Sports.
