Inspired by a roaring hometown crowd and unfazed by a brief injury scare, Alex Eala swept past Russia’s Alina Charaeva, 6-1, 6-2, to advance into the record books in the opening round of the inaugural Philippine Women’s Open at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center on Monday night.
The Filipina ace looked virtually untouchable in the first set, racing to a one-sided victory in just 24 minutes. However, anxiety rippled through the 2,000-seat Center Court when Eala requested a medical timeout while trailing 1-2 in the second set.
Sporting a bandage on her left thigh upon her return, the No. 2 seed quickly put her fans at ease. Eala found another gear, storming through the next six games with blistering baseline winners that left Charaeva scrambling.
The match ended after one hour and 16 minutes when Charaeva misfired a forehand following two unreachable shots from Eala down the line, sealing a triumphant night for the country’s tennis star.
The victory was particularly meaningful for Eala, marking her first professional tournament appearance on home soil and standing as the brightest highlight of the WTA 125 event, which is backed by the Philippine Sports Commission.
Unfortunately for the host nation, Eala was the lone bright spot as her compatriots bowed out in early rounds.
National teammate Tennielle Madis absorbed a 4-6, 0-6 defeat to Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawankaew in the first major project for 2026 of the National Sports Tourism–Interagency Committee (NST-IAC), led by PSC Chairperson Patrick “Pato” Gregorio.
Madis showed early promise, surging to a 2-0 lead before Sawankaew responded with strong net play to take four straight games and grab control. Although the Philippine Tennis Academy standout fought back to tie the match at 4-all, Sawankaew closed out the opening set and dominated the second, finishing the match in one hour and 19 minutes.
Elizabeth Abarquez became the first local casualty after absorbing a 0-6, 0-6 loss to Japan’s Mai Hontama.
Thailand’s Lanlana Tararudee delivered the tournament’s first major upset, stunning Swiss No. 7 seed Simona Waltert, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, in a grueling two-hour, 10-minute encounter.
Colombia’s fifth seed Camila Osorio also advanced after turning back Japan’s Sakura Hosogi, 6-4, 6-3, while Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva dismissed Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech, 6-0, 6-4.
In doubles play, UST teammates Kaye Ann Emana and Justine Hannah Maneja were eliminated by Argentina’s Nicole Fossa Huergo and Latvia’s Darja Semenistaja, 6-2, 6-2.
Filipinas Angeline Alcala and Joanna Peña also bowed out, falling to Japan’s Sara Saito and Taiwan’s Li Yu-yun, 0-6, 1-6.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Cho I-hsuan and Cho Yi-tsen prevailed over Argentina’s Solana Sierra and China’s Zhu Lin, 6-2, 6-3, [10-4].
The tournament is organized by the Philippine Tennis Association and sanctioned by the Women’s Tennis Association.
