Alex Eala’s Abu Dhabi Open opener came with all the awkwardness of a friendly reunion—and all the ruthlessness of a rising star who knows exactly where she’s headed.
The decibel level inside Rizal Memorial Center Court was unmistakably Filipino on Wednesday night—chants echoing, fan signs waving, and Alex Eala cutouts bobbing above a packed crowd willing every point her way. What the energy could not do, however, was bend experience.
Alex Eala did not just play tennis on a sticky Manila night. She surfed the noise, stared down the pain, and converted Rizal Memorial into a very loud, very personal launchpad.
The University Athletic Association of the Philippines has cleared Ateneo de Manila University to compete in Season 89 despite the June 8 team-building tragedy in Dipaculao, Aurora that claimed the lives of student-athletes Rene Clert Baterbonia and Chukwuemeka Divine Adili, while imposing a lifetime ban on former Blue Eagles head coach Thomas Anthony Baldwin and suspending seven other members of the team’s coaching and support staff.
Accessibility is often measured in inches and angles, in ramps, elevators, doorways, and pathways. But its real measure is simpler. It is whether a place allows people to move through it with dignity, independence, and ease.
SMX Convention Centers is expanding its footprint as the Philippine business events industry gathers momentum, with visitor traffic rising 18 percent in the first half of 2026 and new venues in Cebu and Metro Manila set to add capacity.
Universal Robina Corp. (URC) has inaugurated a P2.75-billion manufacturing complex in Malvar, Batangas, expanding its production capacity as the Filipino food company seeks to meet rising demand at home and strengthen its position in export markets.