Alex Eala made history as the first Filipino to win a Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tournament.
Photo: Alex Eala/Instagram
On September 7 (Manila time), she defeated Hungary’s Panna Udvary, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, at the Guadalajara 125 Open finals.
The journey to the championship was far from easy. The 20-year-old tennis sensation had to battle through four grueling matches, including extended sets, to secure her spot. Along the way, she triumphed over American Kayla Day, 6-2, 6-3; Italian Nicole Fossa Huergo, 7-6(2), 6-2; Varvara Lepchenko of the USA, 6(3)-7, 7-6(3), 6-2; and Dutch Arianne Hartono, 6-2, 6-2.
Early this year, she made headlines after winning three consecutive times at the Miami Open, defeating Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, and Iga Swiatek. Then, she finally reached her first WTA final at the Lexus Eastbourne Open in June, but lost to Maya Joint.
In August, she became the first Filipina to win a main draw match at a Grand Slam event at the US Open. However, she failed to advance after losing to Cristina Bucsa in the second round.
With this groundbreaking victory, she finally added a WTA trophy to her long list of achievements.
Congratulations!
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