Cry for help: Eala feels tennis deserves full support

Alex Eala feels the tremendous outpouring of support by Filipinos during her stint in the Philippine Women’s Open (PWO) could pave the way for a surge in tennis’ popularity.

“In my opinion, women’s tennis especially has been overlooked for a long time on top of tennis already not being such a popular sport here in the Philippines. To have a WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) here is a great stepping stone and I think a wake-up call for the people who are able to help and able to do something about it,” said Eala after her campaign came to an end Thursday following a 4-6, 4-6 loss to Camila Osorio of Colombia at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

The 20-year-old netter is set to hit her career-best rank of No. 45 in the WTA next week after scoring two wins on local soil.

“I heard the other day that locally there were only, for men, eight professional tournaments around the Philippines and for women only two…I think there’s a lot of room for improvement having just two pro tournaments for women tennis players,” she said.

The Rafael Nadal Academy alumnus left the Philippines last Friday for the United Arab Emirates so she could compete in the Abu Dhabi Open starting Sunday.

Despite having that next-match mentality, Eala admitted losing in this prestigious tournament organized by the Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Lawn Tennis Association (Philta) stung a bit more knowing it was held at home.

“It’s so nice to feel the support, especially during a loss or during the tough moments in the match. It’s a double-edged sword, I think,” Eala said.

“On one end, it does cushion the blow because you know that they’re there for you and they support you. On the other hand, it hurts a little more and it’s a little harder to accept because you know you want to do the best for them.”

All in all, Eala has had a good run so far in the first month of 2026, reaching the semifinal of the Auckland Open in New Zealand and winning the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne.

She even made it to the main draw of the Australian Open but fell to world No. 99 Alycia Parks of the United States, 6-0, 3-6, 2-6.

Eala said she will have to lick her wounds and move forward.

After all, she still has three more Grand Slams to look forward for as well as a handful of WTA 1000 tournaments on her schedule.

Eala could also suit up for the national team and compete in the 20th Asian Games in Japan from 19 September to 4 October.

“I think it was an overall good week. Of course, I’m disappointed about today. I don’t think I’ve had better days, but it’s just how it is,” Eala said.

“I have to accept it and there’s always next week.”

Philta secretary general John Rey Tiangco said the PWO wouldn’t even be possible if it weren’t for Eala’s rise in the tennis world.

“She’s the inspiration for this tournament and all credit to Alex for playing in this tournament even if she could have played in other competitions,” Tiangco said.