Tovic Salvador

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Photo Courtesy: Rizza Eala

Camille Naredo

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/175720004599120250907.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><em>Photo Courtesy: Rizza Eala </em></span></span></span></div><p>(<strong>UPDATED</strong><strong></strong>) Alex Eala overcame a sluggish start and showed great resolve in clutch moments en route to securing her first-ever WTA 125 championship.</p><p>The Filipina tennis star recovered from a brutal opening set and outlasted Hungary&#x27;s Panna Udvardy, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, to rule the 2025 Guadalajara 125 Open early Sunday morning, Manila time.</p><p>It&#x27;s another historic feat for the 20-year-old, who has now claimed a trophy in a WTA-level tournament for the first time in her career. Eala previously reached the final of the <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2025/6/28/alex-eala-ends-historic-eastbourne-run-in-heartbreaking-loss-vs-maya-joint-2308">Eastbourne Open</a>, a WTA 250 tournament, in June 2025 where she lost in a three-set heartbreaker to Maya Joint.</p><p>This time around there was only elation for the Filipina, who worked her way back from an error-prone first set and displayed her poise in the second set and the decider.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2025/9/6/tennis-alex-eala-powers-into-finals-of-guadalajara-125-0801">READ: Alex Eala powers into finals of Guadalajara 125</a></div><p>The 26-year-old Udvardy, who had beaten Eala in April in Portugal, appeared to have seized the momentum in the second set after forcing a 5-5 deadlock, but the Filipina showed her craftiness in the 11th game wherein she broke the Hungarian&#x27;s serve to again take the lead, 6-5.</p><p>Eala then recovered from a 0-40 hole in the 12th game, unleashing a crosscourt volley to force a deuce. An exchange of errors led to another deuce but it was the Hungarian who blinked in the endgame, allowing Eala to send the match to a decider.</p><p>Eala surged to a 2-0 lead in the third set before Udvardy held her serve to get on board, though the Hungarian then called for a medical timeout that lasted nearly ten minutes. Upon the resumption of the match, Eala took care of business, holding serve for a 3-1 advantage.</p><p>Udvardy showed her own grittiness, saving two break points in the seventh game to trim the deficit, 4-3. But Eala roared back with a love game to inch ever closer to victory, and the Filipina made sure that there would be no let-up as she broke Udvardy to clinch the historic result after two hours and 30 minutes. </p><p>The win over Udvardy caps a superb week for Eala. Seeded second in Guadalajara, she crushed Arianne Hartono (6-2, 6-2) in the round-of-32 and outlasted Varvara Lepchenko (6-7, 7-6, 6-3) in the round-of-16. She swept Nicole Fossa Huergo (7-6, 6-2) in the quarterfinals and Kayla Day (6-2, 6-3) in the semis to set up the showdown against the Hungarian.</p><p>The victory is just the latest highlight in what has been a breakout campaign for Eala.</p><p>The Filipina memorably reached the semifinals of the Miami Open in March, beating a slew of Grand Slam champions along the way including former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek. That run propelled her to the WTA&#x27;s top 100, paving the way for her debut in the main draw of the French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open.</p><p>It was in the year&#x27;s final Grand Slam that Eala wrote more history, beating Danish 14th seed Clara Tauson to become the first Filipino to win a singles match at that level.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO: <span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/i7xt-ie2Qo0?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong></div><div><br/></div>

<p>Alex Eala overcame a sluggish start and showed great resolve in clutch moments en route to securing her first-ever WTA 125 championship.</p>

Alex Eala overcame a sluggish start and showed great resolve in clutch moments en route to securing her first-ever WTA 125 championship.

Tennis: Alex Eala outlasts Udvardy to rule Guadalajara 125 Open

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Tennis: Alex Eala outlasts Udvardy to rule Guadalajara 125 Open

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 07, 2025 04:43 AM PHT

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Updated Sep 07, 2025 07:08 AM PHT

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