Alex Eala didn’t just win on Monday night—she justified the tournament itself.
Seeded No. 2 in the inaugural Philippine Women’s Open, the 20-year-old Filipino star powered into the second round with a ruthless 6-1, 6-2 dismantling of Russia’s Alina Charaeva, electrifying a sellout crowd at the historic Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
On a hard court layered with sporting memory, Eala played with clarity, control, and the calm of someone who knew the night belonged to her.
This is no ordinary home event. The Philippine Women’s Open is a newly designated Women’s Tennis Association 125 tournament, offering USD115,000 in prize money—the biggest purse ever attached to a sport many Filipinos barely followed until Eala arrived. In a country defined by basketball courts and boxing rings, tennis didn’t just earn space; it was invited.
Clearly, Eala’s meteoric rise on the global stage helped will this tournament into existence. A country long devoted to basketball and boxing is now hosting a points-bearing WTA event because one player proved Filipinos could belong in tennis’ big leagues—and she is now ranked 49th in the world.
Home pressure? She waved it off with perspective.
“Yes, there’s added pressure playing at home,” Eala said. “But it’s nothing compared to the pressures that regular everyday Filipinos face providing for their families.” Delivered as cleanly as her backhand, it landed with the crowd.
Elsewhere, reality arrived quickly for local wild cards. Philippine No. 2 Tennielle Madis was overpowered by Thai standout Mananchaya Sawangkaew, the 2025 Southeast Asian Games silver medalist, who pulled away for a 6-4, 6-0 win. Elizabeth Abarquez, a cornerstone of National University’s seven-title UAAP dynasty, ran into a buzzsaw as Japan’s Mai Hontama handed out a swift 6-0, 6-0.
At the top of the draw stands Germany’s Tatjana Maria, the tournament’s No. 1 seed and world No. 42, looming as the field’s ultimate test.
But opening night belonged to Eala—and to Manila. This wasn’t just a first-round win. It was a proof of concept: that tennis has a future here, that crowds will come, and that one player, ranked among the world’s top 50, can shift a nation’s sporting imagination.
