THE man behind the country’s WTA 125 tennis championship is torn. He wants the Philippine’s brightest international player, Alex Eala, to headline the event, but he also wants her to win in the Australian Open, the first major of the world’s tennis season.
He cannot have both.
“It’s really a nice problem to have,” says Patrick 'Pato' Gregorio, chairman of the Philippine Sport Commission, which is bankrolling the local event set for January 26-31, 2026, with a prize pot of US$115,000, or roughly P6 million, the biggest pot for local tennis ever recorded.
The thing is, a number of days of the Philippine schedule runs concurrent to the Australian Open slated for January 12-February 1, 2026.
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So it comes down to this: If Eala advances past the third round of the Aussie Open, then she does not make her Philippine debut until after, optimistically, another year. If Eala loses early, then she can take a plane and rush home for the country’s first-ever Women’s Tennis Association championship.
As choices go, Eala may be as torn as the PSC chairman.
The Philippine event was really made for her. The chairman thought it was time to bring her home, and a big WTA event that attracted women players from home country and faraway courts would provide the perfect setting.
For her part, our star player must be wanting to play here after she’s seen how Filipinos have cheered her from the stands wherever she played in the international circuit.
But as it is with all women tennis pros, Eala wants to make good in Australia. It’s a major. It’s part of the sport’s Holy Grail. It’s where the big tennis stars will go. It’s also where those who hope to be bigger stars, like Alex, should go.
I think it’s unlikely that Eala will win the Australian Open. But it’s not farfetched to imagine that she could go deep. After all, she reached the semifinals of the Miami Open in early 2025, a WTA 1000 tournament just a rung below the majors, when nobody thought she could get past the first round.
If she does good in Australia, it’s goodbye Manila 125. Sad for Filipino fans wanting to see her play but, on the other hand, if she goes deep there, it’s cause for celebration. She will boost her ranking, she will become a player to be reckoned with in the pro tour, and she will put the country on the sports map.
Why the date of the Philippine tennis tournament had to fall within the same window as the Australian Open is apparently unavoidable. According to Chairman Gregorio, it was the only date available in the WTA calendar.
WTA scheduling explained
And there is an upside to the date, Gregorio adds. Those who lose early in the Australian Open are likely to come over and compete in Manila. This may include big names. Which is why, he explains, some tournaments are scheduled inside big ones and in places nearby. It enables those who lose early to bounce back and not leave their long preparation to waste.
Meanwhile, with or without Eala, one significant benefit of the having the WTA event here is the establishment of a tennis center that meets international standards.
Right now, the new center is beginning to rise where the old tennis courts at Rizal Memorial stand. Workers have begun construction of three hardcourt tennis courts, one of which will become the center court with a bench capacity of 2,000-3,000, a requirement of WTA rules.
If Chairman Gregorio’s wish comes true, there may not be enough seats to accommodate fans. His wish? That Eala comes home to thrill her countrymen. His other wish? That Eala makes good in Australia.
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