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A superstar arrives: Alexandra Eala ignites Filipino pride in Dubai
On the opening day of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, when Grand Slam winners were not in action, the Dubai stadium was still packed to the rafters
- PUBLISHED: Sun 15 Feb 2026, 8:53 PM UPDATED: Mon 16 Feb 2026, 8:35 AM
In her own understated style, Alexandra Eala has rewritten history by becoming the highest-ranked tennis player in the history of the Philippines.
On Sunday, the 20-year-old did what few others have managed to achieve in Dubai.
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On the opening day of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, when the top stars and Grand Slam winners were not in action, the Dubai Tennis Stadium was still packed to the rafters.
For her opening game, scheduled for 7 pm on Centre Court, hordes of Filipino fans arrived as early as 11 am.
The organisers confirmed Eala’s Dubai debut was a sell-out.
Later, as she stepped on the court for her first match of the tournament against Hailey Baptiste of the US, the entire stadium was reverberating with chants of ‘Eala, Eala’.
Dubai residents Nestor Odarve and Larry Montesclaros were among the Filipino fans who arrived early for the match, which she won 6-4 1-0 when Baptiste retired due to an injury.
The match may have ended with a whimper, but Eala enthralled her fans with some dazzling tennis.
“She is a superstar now in the Philippines, and we are all here to support her. It's incredible to watch her live here in Dubai,” Nestor told Khaleej Times.
Ranked as low as 139 until 12 months ago, Eala achieved a career high ranking of 40 last week following an incredible season last year in which she reached the semifinals of the Miami Open, where she pulled off stunning wins over three Grand Slam champions — Jeļena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, and Iga Świątek.
Last August, she also recorded her first match win in a Grand Slam when she reached the second round of the US Open, a tournament in which she had won the junior title in 2022.
Her phenomenal rise has triggered a tennis revolution in a basketball-obsessed country.
“She is inspiring a lot of youngsters to play tennis now back home,” Larry told Khaleej Times.
“This is a big change. Our government also launched a WTA tournament for her for the first time, the Manila Open. So she is bringing tournaments and sponsors. And she is showing the young generation that it’s possible for us to dream big in tennis. There is nothing impossible.”
Dubai resident Oscar Jr Roces and his wife, May Roces, were smiling from ear to ear after grabbing the tickets.
“She is representing our country in the best way possible. We are so proud of her,” said May.
For her husband, Oscar, the emergence of Eala is a dream come true.
“I play tennis, and I am a big fan of Rafael Nadal. Now Eala trains at Nadal’s academy in Spain. It’s crazy,” he said.
“You can’t imagine how popular she is now in the Philippines. She is a superstar.”
For Juan Rafael Vargas, Sunday’s match was the icing on the cake for him as a tennis fan.
“I am a regular at the Dubai Tennis Championships. But I never thought that one day I would be able to watch one of our own in this tournament. It’s an incredible feeling,” the Dubai resident said.
It was only a couple of weeks ago that Eala drew huge crowds at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, where she reached the quarterfinals.
“It was crazy, the crowd, the atmosphere, it was incredible,” veteran sports photographer Jorge Ferrari told Khaleej Times.
“I haven’t seen packed stadiums at the Abu Dhabi Open since the days of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal when those legends used to play there!”
The Dubai Centre Court will brace for another full house when Eala takes on two-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini of Italy on Tuesday.
Rituraj Borkakoty is Sports Editor and has spent more than two decades writing on his sporting heroes. He also loves an underdog story, so if you have one, share it with him. He would love to bring it to life.