The big guns hit the ground running for Philippine sports in 2026.

Tennis darling Alex Eala, carrying her highest WTA ranking of 49th, made a major impact in the Australian Open, while world 10-ball titlist Carlo Biado played true to form in the Asian tilt and pole vault star EJ Obiena struck gold in Germany for a fiery start to the new year.

Eala, fresh from her semifinal run at the ASB Classic in New Zealand, packed Melbourne Park’s Court 6 on her AO main draw debut, with many more lined up outside, unable to enter. She lost her first-round gig against Alycia Parks, 6-0, 3-6, 2-6, but the Filipina’s crowd-drawing and overall effect on tennis drew raves from the tennis community, including superstar Novak Djokovic.

The 20-year-old later brought her star power to Manila for the first-ever WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open at the new-look Rizal Memorial Tennis Center, regaling her adoring compatriots with her world-class skills and charm. Her home-soil campaign, however, ended in the quarterfinals at the hands of eventual winner Camila Osorio of Colombia.

Billiards Hall of Famer Biado extended his dominance in the Asian 10-Ball Pool Championships in Jakarta, capping his golden run with an 11-7 victory over Hong Kong’s Robbie Capito in the finals.

Two-time Olympian Obiena, for his part, clinched his first triumph of the season, posting a season-best 5.77 meters to share the gold at the International Springer-Meeting in Cottbus, Germany with the Netherlands’ Menno Vloon. This came after the world No. 11 bagged bronze at the 6th ISTAF Indoor Dusseldorf with 5.65m.

With their exploits, the trio led the achievers’ list of the Philippine Sportswriters Association for January.

Also landing spots in the monthly honor roll were the Para Team Philippines that delivered a strong 45-gold, 37-silver, 52-bronze harvest at 13th Asean Para Games in Thailand, the Aurora Gaming PH that lifted the M7 trophy after a dominant performance at the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang World Championship, and the floorball and lacrosse squads that secured their places to their respective sports’ world men’s championships with brilliant performances in the Continental qualifiers.