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After Alex Eala, is the Philippines ready to become a tennis talent hub?
As Eala prepares for the French Open, the big question is whether her rise can lay the foundation for young Filipino players who are dreaming of reaching the top
- PUBLISHED: Thu 21 May 2026, 9:49 PM UPDATED: Fri 22 May 2026, 11:00 AM
Back in 2010, when Roberto Maniego, the late Filipino sports enthusiast, took his four-year-old granddaughter, Alex Eala, to the tennis court for the first time, he probably had no idea that the moment could spark a historic transformation in the sporting landscape of his country.
Maniego’s constant encouragement had already inspired his daughters, Rizza, Alex’s mum, and Niki to become accomplished swimmers, with the former winning a silver medal at the 1985 Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok.
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But Alex Eala was destined to reach a far bigger stage — one that nobody could have envisioned.
Having risen through the junior ranks, Alex Eala left the Philippines at the age of 13 to join the tennis academy of her idol, Rafael Nadal, in Spain.
The feisty left-hander went on to capture the 2022 US Open junior singles title before reaching the upper echelons of women’s tennis.
In 2024, Eala became the highest-ranked player in the Philippines history before she stunned three Grand Slam champions — Jeļena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, and Iga Swiatek — on her way to the 2025 Miami Open semifinals.
The 20-year-old’s exploits on the big stage have now ignited an incredible passion for tennis in a country that has no history of producing world-class players.
The Eala craze has now reached fever pitch with her matches around the world bringing a huge number of flag-waving Filipino fans to the stadiums.
According to media reports, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) is also enjoying a windfall after Eala burst onto the global stage, bringing a new demographic to the sport.
Eala’s training and fan-interaction videos earn far more views on the WTA website and its social media platforms than those of Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, and Coco Gauff, the three biggest names in women's tennis today.
Incredibly, every Eala press conference video from this year’s Australian Open on the tournament’s official YouTube channel attracted more than 110,000 views — a number that is astonishingly bigger than the press conference videos featuring Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic at the same event.
While her early impact has taken everyone by surprise, there is also a noticeable rise in youngsters joining tennis academies in the Philippines, a country in which basketball and boxing have traditionally been the most popular sports.
Now, as Eala, currently ranked 38, prepares for the French Open, which starts on Sunday, the intriguing question is whether her groundbreaking journey can lay the foundation for young Filipino tennis players who dream of following in her footsteps.
Tough challenge
Riera Mallari, a veteran Manila-based sports journalist, explained why Filipino fans cannot expect to see more Ealas in the future.
There is no dearth of domestic tournaments in the Philippines, but Mallari says these events rarely offer the platform needed to produce top players.
“There has always been an interest in tennis, as there have been countless junior tennis tournaments all over the country. But the level of play has been stagnant because players get to take on the same faces over and over again,” Mallari said.
“With Eala, it was different. She trained at the Rafa Academy (in Spain) when she was 13, and that was the key because she was able to raise her level of play under international coaches and against consistent international competition.”
But Eala’s success may lead corporate houses to invest more in the sport.
“Only the national team players, who are supported by the government (funding through the Philippine Sports Commission), get to taste international competition, but these are very few and far between. With Eala putting a spotlight on the sport, renewed interest is happening, and that is a good sign,” he said.
Spurred on by Eala’s big wins over elite players, the Philippines this year also hosted its first-ever WTA tournament.
“Even though it was just a 125-level tournament, some Filipino players, Tennielle Madis and Stefi Aludo, who took part in the tournament, were recently taken in by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa to bolster their women’s tennis NCAA team,” Mallari informed.
But a significant gap remains between Eala, who was born into an affluent family in Quezon City, and many other young Filipino athletes who lack access to basic facilities.
“Eala's family supported her in training and in competitions which average Filipinos could not afford,” said veteran Filipino journalist Ares P. Gutlerrez.
“There were also good tennis players who took the development path taken by Alex – they also trained in Spain – but they were not as fortunate as Alex, who arrived at the right place at the right time. But Alex’s successful run would surely get the big corporates' attention and perhaps put their money back into sports.”
The Sania connection
When Alex Eala was born on May 23, 2005, India was witnessing the rise of Sania Mirza, who defeated several top-10 players and became the highest-ranked Indian woman in history.
Sania, who quit singles due to a wrist injury after reaching a career-high ranking of 27, went on to win multiple Grand Slam titles in doubles and mixed doubles.
But her story failed to spark a revolution in Indian women’s tennis, with the country still struggling to produce players who could break into the top 200.
And the Philippines, like India, may discover soon that a strong ecosystem cannot be built on one standout talent alone.
After all, it's a country that had never produced a top-200 female player until the emergence of Eala.
“There is a difference between countries with a strong tennis tradition and countries without one," said Joan Solsona Magri, a veteran Spanish tennis writer.
Magri cited the example of Switzerland, which is still known for winter sports despite the glorious success of Roger Federer in tennis.
“Switzerland, for example, had two great champions in the same generation — Federer and (Stan) Wawrinka — but now they do not have a single player in the top 100," he said.
“Now compare Switzerland to countries like Spain, France, Australia or the United States. Regardless of whether they have a Grand Slam champion at a particular time, these countries will always have six or seven players in the top 100.
“So to judge the health of tennis in a country, you need to look at how many players it has in the top 100. Having one Grand Slam champion is not necessarily an accurate reflection of the overall standard of the sport."
Magri then echoed Mallari's sentiments that unless countries like the Philippines and India start sending their talented youngsters abroad for training, success stories like Eala and Sania would remain hard to replicate.
“When you are born in a country without a strong tennis history or system, you usually need to move elsewhere to develop your game,” he said.
“That is what Alex Eala did. If she had not gone to the Rafa Nadal Academy in Spain, she would not have become the player she is today.
“Her story is truly incredible — to see a youngster from the Philippines reach this stage. But it’s unrealistic to expect her success to transform tennis in an entire country. It takes far more than that.”
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.