THERE is this giant billboard posted on social media showing the life-size portrait of Alex Eala swinging a tennis racket. The frame is supposedly gracing the skyline of New York City in the USA. It has the caption: “Alex Eala: The New Face of Tennis.”
Taekwondo legend Monsour del Rosario swore to the genuineness of the material.
But whether or not that’s authentic, it doesn’t matter.
What matters is, it’s true that Alex Eala has gained fame worldwide.
That has been triggered by her exploits the past 17 months or so since she turned pro in March 2025 or thereabouts.
They were exploits that were embellished by Eala’s spectacular wins over currently the majority of the Top 10 players in the world, including Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, Elina Svitolina, Madison Keys, Naomi Osaka, Jelena Ostapenko, Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula.
Eala punctuated her run of upsets by outlasting world No. 3 Pegula, a billionaire’s daughter from Buffalo, New York, in three sets to win the Mubadala Open in Washington DC, USA, last Aug. 3, 2026.
In winning her breakthrough top-tier WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) title against Pegula, Eala bucked a first-set 4-6 loss, levelling the series at 1-1 with a hard-fought 6-4 second-set victory before pouring it on to hand the 32-year-old American a shameful 6-0 third-set defeat en route to wrapping up the championship before a wildly cheering predominantly Filipino crowd,
Eala would play two more tournaments in her so-called hardcourt swing in North America, losing to No. 9 Amanda Anisimova of New Jersey, USA, in three sets after beating Romania’s Elena-Gabriel Ruse in the second round of the Cincinnati Open.
The 6-4, 4-6, 2-6 debacle to Anisimova last Aug. 18 was Eala’s last match, giving her almost a two-week break before plunging into action again in the US Open from Aug. 30 to Sept. 13 in Flushing Meadows, New York.
It was in New York where Eala earned her first Grand Slam win last year, beating Denmark’s Clara Tauson 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 before bowing to Spain’s Cristina Bucsa in the second round 6-4, 6-3.
One year later, Eala is a completely different player, having gained not only fame but fortune as well.
Eala’s net worth now as per WTA is approximately $2 million plus (roughly P116 million) from a combined $1.6-million tournament prize money thus far and lucrative global endorsements.
Eala stands to earn millions (in pesos) more in the US Open, which rewards the winner $5.5 million. And win or lose in the Roud of 64, a player pockets $190,000.
Eala, indeed, has been raking it in. And she’s not even two years into the business.
And get this: She’s only 21 years old.
