MANILA — Philippine sports’ highest individual honor is shaping up to be a two-way showdown as tennis trailblazer Alexandra Eala and Olympic gymnastics icon Carlos Yulo emerged as the frontrunners for the 2025 Athlete of the Year award of the Philippine Sportswriters Association.
Eala and Yulo headlined the shortlist after delivering historic, podium-level performances across the global stage in 2025, placing them firmly at the center of deliberations ahead of the PSA Awards Night on February 2 at the Diamond Hotel.
The 20-year-old Eala, a Victorias City, Negros Occidental native, authored a breakthrough season that redefined Philippine women’s tennis. She became the first Filipina to crack the WTA Top 50 rankings, powered by a deep semifinal run at the Miami Open in March that drew international attention to her rapid rise.
Eala also secured her maiden WTA 125 title in Mexico and capped her season with a long-awaited regional triumph, delivering the Philippines’ first women’s singles gold medal in tennis at the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand in 26 years — a milestone that underscored her status as a generational athlete.
Yulo, meanwhile, sustained his dominance on the world stage following his historic double-gold performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 25-year-old gymnast reaffirmed his elite standing by capturing gold in the vault at the 53rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Jakarta, while also adding a bronze medal in the floor exercise, his signature event.
At the continental level, Yulo further bolstered his résumé by winning floor exercise gold at the Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Jecheon, South Korea, where he also collected three bronze medals to cap another medal-rich campaign.
Their contrasting but equally compelling achievements — Eala’s breakthrough ascent and Yulo’s sustained global excellence — have positioned them as the leading contenders for the PSA Athlete of the Year, the most prestigious individual recognition bestowed annually by the country’s oldest sports media organization.
Also in contention for the award are golfer Miguel Tabuena, world champion pool player Chezka Centeno, and swimmer Kayla Sanchez.
Apart from Athlete of the Year, the PSA will also confer the President’s Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, Executive of the Year, and National Sports Association of the Year, along with several major and special citations during its annual awards gala./PN
