By el Amigo
MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala is staring at a brutally demanding September, but the Filipino tennis ace has already made clear where her biggest commitment lies.
Her grind begins at the US Open, where the career-high world No. 18 enters as the No. 17 seed and one of the most closely watched emerging players in the women’s draw. Eala arrives in New York after a season of historic breakthroughs, including her maiden WTA singles title in Washington and a fourth-round appearance at Wimbledon.
From New York, Eala is scheduled to move into the Asian swing and compete at the Singapore Tennis Open from Sept. 21 to 27.
The Singapore event is no ordinary stop. It has been upgraded to a WTA 500 tournament for 2026 and boasts a field that includes Pegula, Andreeva and Anisimova, giving Eala another chance to test herself against the world’s elite.
But the Singapore campaign also creates a major scheduling headache.
The tournament’s final is set for Sept. 27, the same day the Asian Games tennis competition begins in Nagoya. Eala could therefore face a rapid turnaround if she advances deep in Singapore before immediately shifting to national-team duty.
PHILTA, however, has confirmed that Eala will make the trip to Japan and represent the Philippines in the Asian Games.
That decision carries an even bigger price: Eala will miss the WTA 1000 China Open, which overlaps with the Asiad. Rather than chase another major haul of ranking points in Beijing, she has opted to play for the country.
Eala’s choice gives the Philippines one of its strongest women’s tennis medal hopes in years.
She won bronze in both singles and mixed doubles at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Three years later, she returns to the continental stage with a WTA title, a top-20 ranking and considerably greater experience.
The target this time is no longer simply a medal.
It is gold.
ia/xf
