Jamaine Punzalan

Filipina tennis star Alex Eala during her match against Poland's Magda Linette at the 2026 Miami Open, March 22, 2026. Eala defeated Linette, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2). Roman Garay

Article (news)

ALEX EALA- MIAMI OPEN

Agence France-Presse

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177924074613820260321-alexandra-eala-miami-open-RGaray.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Filipina tennis star Alex Eala during her match against Poland&#x27;s Magda Linette at the 2026 Miami Open, March 22, 2026. Eala defeated Linette, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2). Roman Garay</div>Alexandra Eala and Janice Tjen have taken different routes to the women&#x27;s top 40, but both began their journeys from a region that is rarely on the tennis map.In January, Eala, who turns 21 the day before Roland Garros starts, became the first player from the Philippines to break into the top 50.Tjen turned 24 earlier in May. When she entered the top 40 in February, she became the highest-ranked Indonesian woman since Yayuk Basuki, who reached the top 20 in 1997 and 1998.While their far-flung countries are more than 1,500 kilometers apart, they share a maritime border. The impact of the sometime doubles partners, not only on the court but in the stands, has brought them the nickname &#x27;SEASters&#x27;.The huge Filipino expat population flock to see their first tennis star everywhere she plays.&quot;The start of the season is when I seriously noticed that people were really coming, they were buying tickets, they were taking time out of their day. It was like, wow,&quot; world number 38 Eala told the Served website.She added she had been a &quot;little bit in denial&quot; about her popularity.&quot;After I broke that barrier of not accepting, thinking, &#x27;I don&#x27;t think I&#x27;m really famous&#x27;, every week they just kept coming, so I was, &#x27;Okay, you have to accept it, absorb it, it&#x27;s here, it&#x27;s a really good position&#x27;.&quot;Her opponents notice.&quot;I love that she has such an incredible fan base. I&#x27;ve seen the atmosphere. It&#x27;s amazing,&quot; American Amanda Anisimova said in Dubai.Yet, Eala is cautious.&quot;I want to give back all the support they give me, but my first obligation is to myself,&quot; she told the Punto de Break website.&quot;I try to find the healthiest way to deal with all of this, because I feel like many things could go wrong... It&#x27;s all about balance.&quot;<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/5/18/alex-eala-exits-strasbourg-in-loss-to-oliynykova-2339">Alex Eala exits Strasbourg in loss to Oliynykova</a></div>Representing a nation of 288 million, 41st-ranked Tjen is also proving a draw.&quot;I don&#x27;t think too much about it,&quot; she told the Times of India ahead of a Billie Jean King Cup match in Delhi in April.&quot;I know that as long as I keep working hard and giving my best, I always have Indonesia behind me. That&#x27;s something I&#x27;m proud of.&quot;Two Thai women, Lanlana Tararudee and Mananchaya Sawangkaew are also hovering around the top 100.&quot;I&#x27;m super, super proud to be part of this group. And these are girls that I grew up with,&quot; said Eala.&quot;I think Southeast Asia has its own little charm. We have certain humour that&#x27;s very similar, maybe cultural things that we share. There&#x27;s definitely that shared sense of pride for my region.&quot;Eala left home aged 12 to join the <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/4/1/alex-eala-ramps-up-training-for-clay-court-swing-at-rafa-nadal-academy-0033">Rafael Nadal Academy</a> in Mallorca. She won the US Open junior singles in 2022.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/3/9/tennis-as-achievements-pile-up-alex-eala-seeks-to-go-past-her-limits-1454">Tennis: As achievements pile up, Alex Eala seeks to go past her limits</a></div><div> </div><div>&#x27;TENNIS DEMANDS A LOT&#x27;</div>After breaking into the top 50 last season, she became the first person to hit with Nadal since his retirement over a year earlier.&quot;It was crazy,&quot; Eala told The National. &quot;It was my first time ever hitting with him and I was so nervous and it was definitely physically demanding for me.&quot;Just to say that you hit with Rafa, it&#x27;s insane.&quot;She has Nadal&#x27;s willingness to go to the limits.After beating Magdalena Frech in a tough three-setter at the Italian Open earlier this month, she said on Tennis Channel: &quot;I told myself that I wasn&#x27;t tired enough.&quot;Eala is a lefty, like Nadal, but has not yet displayed the 14-time Roland Garros champion&#x27;s love for clay.&quot;I&#x27;m starting to build that relationship,&quot; she said in Rome. &quot;This is my first season where I&#x27;ve really done these high-level tournaments.&quot;Tjen developed later on tennis scholarships at US universities, spending one year at Oregon and three at Pepperdine by the beach in Malibu. She has hardly any experience on clay and played her first tour-level matches on the surface in April.&quot;So I&#x27;m just taking things one at a time,&quot; she told the Roland Garros website.She also admitted she had previously held doubts about pursuing a tennis career.&quot;Tennis demands a lot of you,&quot; she told the Times of India.&quot;You basically have to travel every week of your life and that&#x27;s a very tough demand for me. I don&#x27;t like travelling as much and considering that I wouldn&#x27;t be able to enjoy it and being away from home for that long I decided to quit, but I had a lot of good people around me and they kept convincing me to give it a try.&quot;<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y5nBwM04SDg?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M8hM-mEvwu0?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>

Alexandra Eala and Janice Tjen have taken different routes to the women's top 40, but both began their journeys from a region that is rarely on the tennis map.

Alexandra Eala and Janice Tjen have taken different routes to the women's top 40, but both began their journeys from a region that is rarely on the tennis map.

Eala and Tjen bring a Southeast Asian 'sense of pride' to Roland Garros

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Sudoku

Word of the Day

Lotto

Horoscope

Sports

Eala and Tjen bring a Southeast Asian 'sense of pride' to Roland Garros

Agence France-Presse

Published May 20, 2026 09:36 AM PHT

Read More:

tennis

Alex Eala

Janice Tjen

Roland Garros

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.