Alex Eala back in Singapore: ‘I love Chatterbox and a good Hainanese chicken’

Alexandra Eala and Singapore go way back. In fact, the 21-year-old Filipino icon’s road to global superstardom runs straight through the Lion City. It is a connection she holds dear to her heart.

Eala was just 12 years old when she qualified for the WTA Future Stars tournament, a showcase for junior tennis talent from the Asia-Pacific and Oceania regions. Part exhibition, part training camp, the event was played alongside the prestigious WTA Finals at The Kallang, then-known as the Singapore Sports Hub, from 2014 to 2018.

The event gave the region’s underserved talents an opportunity to rub shoulders with some of tennis’ greats. Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati, and Indonesian legend Yayuk Basuki were there to share their experience. Eala was one of the youngest to ever get an invite. She left with the Li Na Inspiration Award for outstanding spirit, positivity, and sportsmanship on and off the court.

“I had such a fun time in WTA Future Stars,” Eala told The Straits Times. “Of course, my core memory of that was winning the Li Na award. It was so fun because the trophy was so beautiful. I was super overjoyed.

“I got to meet everybody there. They had a clinic and I got to meet Judy Murray! And I got to watch Dominika Cibulkova.”

Ten years later and no longer anonymous, Eala returns to The Kallang to play at the Sept 21-27 Singapore Tennis Open, the biggest women’s tournament in South-east Asia. She comes off an outstanding summer season, where she made her first Grand Slam quarter-final at Wimbledon and won her first WTA title in Washington. Through it all, she more than justified the hype. She notched wins over former No. 1 Iga Swiatek, newly minted No. 1 Elena Rybakina, and world No. 3 Jessica Pegula. 

“She’s got a really solid head on her shoulders,” said former No. 1 Naomi Osaka. “She seems so grateful for everything.”

With every “first” of her own, Eala has made history for the Philippines. Now ranked at a career-best No. 18, she is the highest-ranked Filipino and South-east Asian woman in the history of tennis, besting Indonesia’s Basuki and Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn. Both peaked at No. 19.

“I love Singapore,” Eala said. “I love playing in South-east Asia because it feels very familiar. Although all the countries are unique I think there’s something very similar among the South-east Asians – all South-east Asians can relate. I love being back in our region.”

Eala’s commitment is not just lip service. In 2025, while still ranked outside the top 100, she desperately tried to play the Singapore Open but failed to make it out of qualifying. This time, her team informed the head of the Philippine Olympic Committee that she would be unavailable for flag-bearer responsibilities at the Asian Games opening ceremony because she needed to prepare for Singapore.

“There are a lot of Filipinos, specifically, in Singapore, so I’m really excited for that,” she said.

“But I think the experiences that I’ve had with tennis and Singapore goes way, way back for me. So every time I am able to go there and compete is really special. It’s kind of full circle because I’ve been going there for tournaments since I was eight or 10.”

What is Eala looking forward to the most?

“I love Chatterbox,” she said wistfully. “I love a good Hainanese chicken.”

What can fans expect when they tuck in for their first live Eala experience? Gritty baseline tennis played with white-knuckled bravery, with the latter being the true secret sauce to Eala’s success. Often outsized and outgunned by powerful opposition, Eala continues to find ways to unsettle even the best players in the world. She is a sparkling 7-3 against top 10 opponents this season, despite only breaking into the top 20 in August.

It takes courage to hold your ground against the sustained attacking power that is so prevalent in the modern game. But Eala has been training her whole life to subvert it. Introduced to the sport by her grandfather, she could train on either a court comprised of ground-up seashells to mimic a clay court, or a makeshift hard court that doubled as a basketball court.

“We had the pole and the basketball hoop behind the baseline,” she explained. “Once I got a little bit bigger, if you went too far back you would hit the pole. Let’s just say you had a very short backdrop.”

With no option to retreat, grinding 10m behind the baseline – a more than viable option for naturally speedy but undersized players – was a literal impossibility. That pole moulded Eala into the gutsy player she is today, one willing to step onto the court, absorb pace, and go toe-to-toe with anyone.

“It’s gotta have something to do with it,” Eala said. “I don’t want to say it’s the only reason, definitely not, but for sure, I think it’s got something to do with it.”

It’s a remarkable bit of lore, reminiscent of the empty swimming pools that forced Ana Ivanovic to master the down-the-line forehand. Or the low-bouncing wood floors that primed Petra Kvitova to dominate the dead bounces at Wimbledon. An entire Oscar-nominated film was based on the cracked courts of Compton that forged Serena and Venus Williams into champions.

Eala will head straight to Japan after the Singapore Open to represent the Philippines at the Asian Games. National duty comes easily to Eala, who has proven herself buoyed, not sunk, by the weight of expectation. She already won a gold medal at the 2025 SEA Games and won two bronzes at the Asiad in 2023.

But the decision does not come without a cost. Eala has chosen the Asian Games over the China Open, one of the biggest mandatory tournaments on the WTA Tour calendar. The decision could result in a five-figure fine from the WTA and ranking-point penalty.

“The Asian Games happens once every four years,” Eala said. “I just found myself drawn to compete in that over other stuff.”

Which is to say, Eala may have spent the last week rubbing shoulders with Vogue’s global editorial director, Anna Wintour at New York Fashion Week and dining on high-end chicken, but when it comes to crafting her career, her community comes first. She is clear-eyed in her unwavering mission to bring a new fan base of Filipinos and South-east Asians into tennis by welcoming them into this new space.

To that end, Eala was particularly supportive of the Singapore Open’s decision to offer a tier of more affordable early-round tickets to increase accessibility.

“Tennis, depending on where you go, can become a very high-profile event to go to and very difficult,” she said. “That’s amazing that they’re making it more financially accessible.

“It helps tennis, it grows the market because people are able to experience it live. I think it’s a very unique experience to watch tennis live.”

• Courtney Nguyen is an experienced freelance tennis writer based in San Francisco. Once a senior writer for WTA Insider at wtatennis.com, she now runs an irreverent tennis blog called Forty Deuce.