Camille Naredo

Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala faces Russia's Alina Charaeva during the Round of 32 at the WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open, held at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in Manila on January 26, 2026.

Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala faces Russia's Alina Charaeva during the Round of 32 at the WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open, held at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in Manila on January 26, 2026. Eala triumphed over Charaeva in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

TENNIS- PH WOMEN's OPEN

ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- There seems to be no slowing down for Filipina ace Alex Eala, who has now reached the fourth round in her maiden campaign at Indian Wells.Eala advanced to the round-of-16 at the BNP Paribas Open after American star Coco Gauff was forced to retire with an arm injury, with the Filipina leading 6-2, 2-0 in their third round clash. <div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/3/9/alex-eala-advances-to-indian-wells-round-16-after-coco-gauff-retires-1029">READ: Alex Eala advances to round of 16 in Indian Wells after Gauff retires</a></div>It was a reversal of their previous meeting just last month in Dubai, where Gauff emerged with a dominant 6-0, 6-2 triumph. &quot;I took those learnings from the last match. I tried to do things differently, better on certain things I can control,&quot; Eala said afterward. &quot;I know that Coco is a great player and, you know, she&#x27;s really going to give you a hard time.&quot;There&#x27;s nothing much you can do about the other person playing well. So I tried to focus on what I could control,&quot; she added.Eala has been on an upward trajectory since her breakout campaign in Miami last year, with the Filipina recording several milestones in the ensuing months. She surged up the WTA rankings and made her debut in the main draw of Grand Slams, including the Australian Open in January.Along the way she won a gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games and put a spotlight on tennis in the Philippines.Eala says that even now, 12 months later, she is still benefiting from the lessons of her run in Miami, where she defeated a slew of Grand Slam champions and reached the semifinals. For the 20-year-old, that historic campaign has fueled her to keep pushing forward. <div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/3/9/tennis-alex-eala-hopes-for-gauff-s-speedy-recovery-an-amazing-competitor-1320">READ: Alex Eala hopes for Gauff&#x27;s speedy recovery -- &#x27;An amazing competitor&#x27;</a></div>&quot;I think that Miami run was really big. It was my biggest result, and I think that was kind of the spark that lit the fire. I learned so much from that week,&quot; she said. &quot;But there&#x27;s so many things that have happened in between then and now that have added to how I&#x27;ve grown as a player and as a person.&quot;&quot;I think one of the biggest things is maturity, experience, being able to surround myself consistently with this high of a level of tennis players and, and this high of a level of competition pushes me to be better,&quot; she added.&quot;So, I&#x27;m trying to find my limits and, and go past that.&quot;Nonetheless, she stressed that humility and self-awareness remain the huge keys to her current success, as she keeps in mind that there is still plenty of work to be done.&quot;I do my best to be humble and keep my feet on the ground because I am surrounded by so many amazing players,&quot; Eala said in an on-court interview. &quot;Tennis is a really humbling sport because you really learn how to lose and you learn to be self aware.&quot;

There seems to be no slowing down for Filipina ace Alex Eala, who has now reached the fourth round in her maiden campaign at Indian Wells.

There seems to be no slowing down for Filipina ace Alex Eala, who has now reached the fourth round in her maiden campaign at Indian Wells.

Tennis: As achievements pile up, Alex Eala seeks to go past her limits

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Tennis: As achievements pile up, Alex Eala seeks to go past her limits

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published March 09, 2026 02:54 PM PHT

Read More:

abssports

tennis

Indian Wells

BNP Paribas Open

Alex Eala

Miami Open

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