MANILA – Alexandra Eala has officially arrived on the world tennis stage.
The 20-year-old Filipina clinched her first-ever WTA title after staging a gutsy comeback against Hungary’s Panna Udvardy, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, in the finals of the Guadalajara Open in Mexico on Saturday night (Sunday morning in the Philippines).
Seeded second, Eala shook off a shaky opening set and proved her resilience in a two-hour-and-30-minute thriller, breaking Udvardy’s serve late in the second to force a decider. Riding the momentum, she surged ahead in the third set and sealed the championship with a decisive service break.
“I’d like to thank the organizers. I am so happy to come back here. I think it was tough to adjust the conditions, so I want to thank my team for having me through that this week,” Eala said.
“And of course, to everybody who came here today. There are a lot of Filipinos here, so you know, the atmosphere is super special. I won my first title here in Mexico in front of such amazing people,” she added.
The world No. 75 had previously come close to a breakthrough at the WTA 250 Eastbourne Open in June, where she settled for runner-up against Maya Joint. This time, she finished the job.
Eala’s Guadalajara campaign was marked by impressive wins over Arianne Hartono, Varvara Lepchenko, Nicole Fossa Huergo, and Kayla Day before toppling Udvardy in the final.
Her triumph capped a banner season for the Rafa Nadal Academy product. Earlier this year, she stunned multiple Grand Slam winners, including former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, en route to the semifinals of the Miami Open—a run that catapulted her into the WTA top 100.
She also made history at the US Open by upsetting 14th seed Clara Tauson to become the first Filipino to win a singles match in a Grand Slam main draw.
Up next, Eala will test her momentum at the Sao Paulo Open in Brazil from September 8 to 14./PN
