Alexandra Maniego Eala (born May 23, 2005) is a Filipina professional tennis player.[1]
She has a career-high singles ranking by the WTA of 143, achieved on 22 July 2024. She is the highest-ranked Filipino female singles player in WTA Tour history, surpassing Maricris Gentz, who peaked at No. 284 on 18 October 1999.[2]
Eala was the No. 2 ranked ITF junior on 6 October 2020.[3] Eala won her first junior singles title at the 2022 US Open, making her the first Filipino player to win a junior Grand Slam singles title.
Eala peaked in the junior rankings at No. 2, after reaching the semifinals at the 2020 French Open girls' singles competition.[10]
2021: Second junior doubles title
Eala paid tribute to her roots on Independence Day following another major triumph, this time on the clay court in Paris. Eala and her Russian partner Oksana Selekhmeteva captured the French Open girls' doubles title Saturday. They were the top seeds in the tournament, won after knocking out Maria Bondarenko of Russia and Amarissa Kiara Tóth of Hungary, 6–0, 7–5, in the final.[11]
On 4 March 2020, Eala made her debut on the ITF Women's Circuit, as she played in the $15k event at Monastir, Tunisia where she won her first professional match.[13]
In January 2021, she leaped to the top 1000 in the WTA rankings, after winning the title at the first leg of the $15k Manacor event in Spain.[14]
She received a wildcard into the qualifying draw of the Miami Open where she lost to Viktória Kužmová in a three-set battle in the first round.
In August 2021, she made her WTA Tour main-draw debut at the 2021 Winners Open in Cluj-Napoca, Romania after receiving a wildcard. In her first match, she defeated Paula Ormaechea in straight sets. In her next match she lost to Mayar Sherif, also in straight sets.
2022-2024: WTA 1000, major and top 200 debuts and first win
She received a wildcard making her WTA 1000 debut in 2022 Miami Open before losing to Madison Brengle in the first round.
In 2023, Eala made her debut in the qualifying draw of the Australian Open but she lost her first qualifying match to Misaki Doi in a tight three-setter. Her next appearance was at the Hua Hin Championship where she beat Han Xinyun and Kristina Dmitruk in straight sets to reach the main draw. In her first-round match, she fell to Tatjana Maria.
She received wildcards for the main draw at the 2023 Miami Open[16] and at the 2023 Madrid Open.
She entered the top 200 on 28 August 2023 and reached a new career-high ranking of world No. 191 on 18 September 2023.[17]
At the Asian Games, she won two bronze medals, one in the women's singles and the second in the mixed doubles with Francis Alcantara.[18]
She received wildcards for the qualifying draw at the 2024 Miami Open, and for the main draw at the Madrid Open.[19] During the 2024 Miami Open, she stunned former world No. 5, Sara Errani, during the first round of qualifying winning in straight sets.[20] However, in the second round of qualifying, she suffered cramps and lost to Emiliana Arango.[21] At the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open, she recorded her first WTA 1000 win over Lesia Tsurenko. She then lost in a tight three-set match against 27th seed Sorana Cirstea.
Eala entered the qualifying rounds of the 2024 French Open where she managed to beat Ma Yexin of China and Taylah Preston of Australia to reach the qualifying competition. During the final round to qualify in the main draw, coincidentally on her 19th birthday, she lost in another tight three-set match to Julia Riera of Argentina. Nonetheless, her run during the 2024 French Open resulted to a new career high ranking in singles, on 27 May 2024, she reached No. 157 in the world.
For the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, she entered the qualifying rounds and reached the final qualifying match where she lost to eventual quarterfinalist Lulu Sun. Her run marked her second final qualifying match for the year after her French Open performance a month earlier.
After the Wimbledon, Eala entered the Open Araba en Femenino, a W100 tournament, where she triumphed in both singles and doubles. She won the title in singles without dropping a set. Indoubles, she and her partner Estelle Cascino, won their second doubles crown. She reached a new career-high ranking in both singles and doubles, at 143 and 208 respectively.
Eala entered the 2024 US Open qualifying rounds where she again reached the final qualifying round, losing to 20th seed Elena-Gabriela Ruse. After her US Open run, she got into the main draw of the 2024 Guadalajara Open Akron, a WTA500 event. To enter the main draw, she had to qualify by winning 2 qualifying matches.
Sponsorships
Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)
Globe Telecom Inc.
Babolat
Nike
Performance timeline
Key
W
F
SF
QF
#R
RR
Q#
P#
DNQ
A
Z#
PO
G
S
B
NMS
NTI
P
NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup/Billie Jean King Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.
^The first Premier 5 event of the year has switched back and forth between the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Ladies Open since 2009. Dubai was classified as a Premier 5 event from 2009 to 2011 before being succeeded by Doha for the 2012–2014 period. In 2015, Dubai regained its Premier 5 status while Doha was demoted to Premier status. The Premier 5 tournaments were reclassified as WTA 1000 tournaments in 2021.