ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA has officially been named as the “Star of the Hard-Court Swing,” hoping for it to be a good stepping stone to her herculean golden bid in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games (Asiad) this week for a seat in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The 21-year-old Filipina pride won via landslide in the WTA poll, notching 78% of the total votes to be hailed as the brightest star for fans among the other leg winners in the just-concluded North American leg of the WTA Tour.
Newly-crowned world No. 1 and US Open champion Elena Rybakina came in at distant second place with 16% as Canada Open and world No. 9 Iga Swiatek finished at third (3%).
It’s the second “Star” honor for Ms. Eala from the WTA after a recognition for the grass-court season in Europe, thanks to a WTA 125 title in Birmingham and a Round of 16 finish in Wimbledon with 89% of the total votes. She bested Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova (7%) and runner-up Karolina Muchova (3%), both from Czechia.
In North America, Ms. Eala hoisted her maiden WTA Tour title in the WTA 500 Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington last month with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 comeback victory over home bet Jessica Pegula.
It was one of the greatest WTA title runs this year as Ms. Eala took down Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen of China, reigning DC champion Leylah Fernandez of Canada, WTA Tour Finals champion Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka of Japan and 11-time champion Ms. Pegula.
She also had her highest career seeding at No. 29 in the US Open, where she made it to the third round.
Other candidates for the said distinction were US Open runner-up Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus (No. 2), Cincinnati winner Coco Gauff of USA (No. 4), Monterey winner Diane Parry of France (No. 30) and Guadalajara winner Iva Jovic of USA (No. 13).
Also in the fray was the world No. 1 pair of Katerina Siniakova of Czechia and Taylor Townsend of USA, who ruled the US Open doubles to complete a career Grand Slam after previously winning the 2024 Wimbledon, 2025 Australian Open and 2026 French Open.
With a new stripe in her belt, Ms. Eala — on the heels of a 6-4, 5-7, 3-6 stunner defeat as the No. 3 seed to No. 180 Tatiana Prozorova of Russia in the Singapore Open to start the Asian swing — is hoping to ride on the momentum in the Asiad as the No. 1 seed in the women’s singles that already kickstarted on Sunday.
Ranked No. 18 in the world, Ms. Eala has a first-round bye to face either Thailand’s Patcharin Cheapchandej or Pakistan’s Mahin Aftab Qureshi in the Round of 16.
Another Filipina in Tenny Madis is also in the fray, clashing against No. 7 seed Himeno Sakatsume of Japan.
Ms. Eala netted two bronze medals in 2023 Hangzhou Asiad, looking to surpass both with also a stint in the women’s doubles with Shaira Hope Rivera against Lai Ching Laam and Kallista Liu of Hong Kong in the first round. Winner gets to face the No. 3 seed pair of Xinyu Jiang and Zhaoxuan Yang of China.
The Asiad serves as the second tilt in her Asian swing albeit not part of the tour, sacrificing the mandatory WTA 1000 China Open, where most of her top Asian rivals opt to play at the same period for a possible $10,000 fine from the WTA.
She will plunge back to the WTA Tour in the Wuhan Open on Oct. 12 to 18. — John Bryan Ulanday