TENNIS

Eala eyes P11.7-M purse

Ivan Suing · Oct 18, 2026, 12:54 AM

ALEX Eala attempts to break out from a slump and bag the hefty P11.7-million top prize in the Ningbo Open in China this coming week. — Photo courtesy of Roslan Rahman/Agence France-Presse

A whopping $185,500 (around P11.7 million) will go to Alex Eala in the event she rules the Ningbo Open which kicks off Monday.

The 21-year-old Eala, who won the Washington Open last August, faces a formidable field in the WTA 500 tournament, led by world No. 1 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan.

Also in the draw are world No. 6 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, world No. 9 Iga Swiatek of Poland, world No. 10 Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine and world No. 11 Iva Jovic of the United States.

World No. 12 Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, No. 13 Diana Shnaider of Russia and No. 14 Elise Mertens of Belgium are also set to compete as Eala aims to collect her second WTA trophy.

Eala, currently ranked No. 19, is looking to bounce back after consecutive early exits on the WTA Tour, including a second-round loss to world No. 217 Shi Han of China at the Wuhan Open last week.

The Filipina has been reflecting on her recent setbacks and learning to separate her results from her sense of self-worth.

“To (attach) results (to my) self-worth is something I’ve had to unlearn because I felt that for a long time that if I wasn’t doing well, my self-confidence and my self-worth and how I’d look at myself would change in a negative way,” Eala said.

“So those have to be separate.”

Eala acknowledged that her ranking does not make her immune to upsets, recognizing the unpredictable nature of the sport.