MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala gets a well-deserved breather as she returns home for a brief break from the WTA Tour.
Fresh from a historic run in the Wimbledon Championships, Eala will be back in the country for a series of events organized by her sponsors.
One of them is a fan meet to be hosted by Globe Telecom on July 15 at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati, which will give supporters a chance to interact with and see the Filipina tennis star in the flesh.
It will mark Eala’s first homecoming since she bannered the inaugural Philippine Women’s Open — the country’s first-ever WTA 125 event — in January.
Eala has made huge strides since.
The 21-year-old reached a career-high No. 29 in the WTA rankings in March after a quarterfinal stint in the Dubai Tennis Championships in the United Arab Emirates and a round of 16 run in the Indian Wells Open in the United States.
She captured her second WTA 125 title by ruling the Birmingham Open in Great Britain, then beat a pair of top-10 opponents in Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina and Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina on the way to a semifinal appearance in the Berlin Tennis Open in Germany.
Her rise did not stop there as Eala — seeded in a Grand Slam for the first time in her career at No. 29 — enjoyed a deep run at Wimbledon, the oldest and arguably the most prestigious major in the sport.
Eala highlighted her Wimbledon campaign with a gritty dethroning of world No. 3 Iga Swiatek of Poland in the third round to become the first player from the Philippines to reach the second week of a Grand Slam.
The win saw Eala improve her record against top-10 foes in 2026 to 5-2.
Eala fell short of a coveted spot in the quarterfinals following a three-set loss to 2024 finalist Jasmine Paolini in their round of 16 duel.
After compiling a 12-4 record on grass this year, Eala turns her attention to the hard-court swing, with her next appearance coming in the Washington DC Open in the United States, which is slated to begin on July 27.
But before that, Eala heads home to overjoyed Filipinos who look forward to celebrating her achievements on the world stage. – Rappler.com