Alex eyes North American swing after historic Wimbledon run
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Alex Eala may have seen her dream Wimbledon campaign come to an end, but the rewards from her historic run are only beginning.
The 21-year-old Filipino tennis star is set to receive the biggest paycheck of her career after reaching the Round of 16 of the Wimbledon Championships, where she bowed to world No. 17 Jasmine Paolini, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, on Monday.
For advancing to the Last 16, Eala will pocket £300,000 — or roughly P25 million — eclipsing her previous career-high prize money of $332,160 (18.9 million) that she earned after her breakthrough semifinal finish in the 2025 Miami Open.
Eala, currently ranked No. 32 in the world, will also receive an additional £18,000 (P1.5 million) to be shared with Czech partner Nikola Bartunkova following their first-round exit in the women’s doubles event.
Her impressive Wimbledon showing is also expected to propel her to a new career-high ranking of No. 28 in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings.
Breaking into the Top 32 carries added significance as it virtually assures Eala of seeded status in Grand Slam tournaments and could earn her first-round byes in selected WTA events.
She previously benefited from that privilege earlier this year when she skipped the opening round of the BNP Paribas Open in California after climbing to a then career-best No. 29 in the rankings.
With her confidence at an all-time high, Eala now shifts her focus to the North American hard-court swing leading to the final Grand Slam event of the year.
She is set to see action in the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington from 27 July to 2 August, where defending champion Leylah Fernandez and Paolini headline the field alongside home bet Madison Keys, Naomi Osaka of Japan, Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine and rising American Iva Jovic.
The Washington tournament serves as the opening stop of a busy hard-court schedule before the US Open, which will be held from 30 August to 13 September in New York.
Eala is also expected to compete in back-to-back WTA 1000 events at the Canadian Open in Toronto from Aug. 2 to 13 and the Cincinnati Open from 13 to 23 August.
She will be aiming for another breakthrough in New York after reaching the second round of last year’s US Open before falling to Cristina Bucsa.
Beyond the professional tour, Eala is also expected to spearhead the Philippine campaign in the 2026 Asian Games from 19 September to 4 October in Japan, where she aims to improve her two-bronze performance in the previous staging of the event in Hangzhou.
