A HOMECOMING sweetened by history and sealed with a victory.
Alex Eala gave the Filipino crowd a night to remember, overpowering Russia’s Alina Charaeva, 6-1, 6-2, on Monday to open her campaign at the WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open in her first match on home soil in eight years.
Eala was just 12 years old when she last competed in the Philippines, then a junior at the 2018 PHINMA-PSC International Juniors Championship. She returned to the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center as a 20-year old ranked No. 49 in the world.
READ Filipina wildcards Madis, Abarquez crash out of PH Women's Open
Except for a medical timeout and a 0-2 deficit in the second set, Eala was in control and dictated the tempo with her deep groundstrokes and occasional forays into the net, to the delight of a packed crowd at center court.
She emerged from the timeout with a bandaged left thigh, but showed no signs of slowing down and made no mention of it in the post-match interview.
"My pressure is nothing compared to what the Filipinos have providing for their families," she said, thanking the fans who packed the stands for what sge called a “full circle” moment for her young career.
"My family was able to watch me in person finally, and all of you guys, lahat kayo nakapanood din sa personal kaya tuwang-tuwa [ako] siyempre. I think it's such a full circle moment that my two worlds collide being in Manila and bringing the WTA tour."
Eala, who has one WTA title to her name and appearances in all four Grand Slam tournaments since last year, will now move to the round of 16 awaiting her opponent between Japan's Nao Hibino and Himeno Sakatsume.
Eight years in the making, it took a WTA 125 title, a series of headline-grabbing runs, a breakthrough into the world’s top 50, and several firsts for Philippine tennis to finally bring a tournament of this caliber to her home country.
And it was about more than the milestone itself. Eala has elevated the local tennis scene to heights few imagined, turning heads around the world — most notably during her recent Australian Open stint just a week before the Manila stop.
What made the win even better was Eala took revenge from Charaeva six years after their first meeting in 2020 where the Russian defeated her 6-3, 6-3.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
