It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up. — George Herman Ruth, father of legendary baseball player Babe Ruth
She’s done it! We now have the first Filipino tennis player who have one a world title by beating all her opponents in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Guadalajara 125 Open.
Going into the tournament from a 75th-world ranking, Alexandra ‘Alex’ Eala was unstoppable as she won all her matches to grab her first ever WTA title and leaped to world’s No. 61.
But aside from the honor, prestige and recognition, Alex also earned prize money and ranking points from the victory. Based on a document uploaded on the WTA website, she will be receiving US$15,500 (around PhP880,000) as her reward for her first WTA trophy.
In 2021, Eala was only 15 years old, still four months away from turning 16, when she won her first title in the pro tour. Clinching the International Tennis Federation (ITF) W15 Manacor in Spain, she earned $2,352, which was around PhP112,000 at that time.
Fast forward to the 2025 Wimbledon Championships where Eala was given an automatic spot in the women’s singles main draw by virtue of her surge in the world rankings—she got rewarded with £66,000, around PhP5 million, despite a first-round exit after dropping a three-setter to defending champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic.
According to the WTA, Eala’s career earnings have now reached US$1,331,985 (approximately Ph76 million)—a milestone underscoring her rapid rise and the financial realities of climbing through varying tiers of the pro circuit.
This is the lucrative world of the WTA that current 20-year-old lass from Quezon City has stepped into.
And the legendary Spanish 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael ‘Rafa’ Nadal cannot contain his elation over Eala’s accomplishment: “Happy and proud.”
“Congrats, Alex Eala, on your first WTA (trophy). I am happy and proud of what you are achieving for yourself and for the Philippines,” Nadal enthused.
In the Guadalajara Open, played at the Panamerican Tennis Center in Mexico, Eala, who has a career-high ranking of No. 56, defeated Hungary’s Panna Udvardy in comeback fashion, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, to net her historic feat.
Eala will be seeing action again on Wednesday at the Sao Paulo Open in Brazil, where she is seeded third, just behind No. 27 Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil) and No. 82 Solana Sierra (Argentina).
* * *
YOUR comments and suggestions are most welcome, please message me through my email at cipcab2006@yahoo.com or text me at cellphone numbers 09171656792 or 09171592256. Thank you for your support and mabuhay!
