Alexandra Eala becomes first Filipina to win gold medal in tennis at SEA Games in 26 years

Alexandra Eala made her country proud once again, winning a gold medal for the Philippines at the 2025 Southeast Asian Games.

Eala is one of the most talented tennis players to ever come out of the Philippines. At 20 years of age, she already knows how it feels to be ranked in the Top 50 on the WTA Tour, and will enter the 2026 season ranked 53rd in the world.

During the off-season, she enjoyed a practice session with Rafael Nadal, which probably helped her to play as well as she did at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games at the National Tennis Development Center in Nonthaburi, Thailand.

Eala represented her country in the women's team competition and the mixed doubles event, winning bronze medals in both. Team Philippines, represented by Stefi Marithe Aludo, Alexa Joy Milliam, Tennielle Madis, Shaira Hope Rivera, and Eala, won their quarterfinal tie in the women's team competition against Vietnam 2-1, but then lost to Thailand 0-3 in the semifinals, securing a bronze medal.

In the mixed doubles competition, Eala teamed up with Francis Casey Alcantara. They had a first-round bye, beat the Singaporean duo of Deanne Choo Wei Lin and Daniel Quinsay Abadia, and then lost to the Thai team of Patcharin Cheapchandej and Pawit Sornlaksup, which secured them bronze medals.

In the women's singles competition, however, Eala was unstoppable. She was the top seed, which meant a first-round bye. She then beat Shihomi Li Xuan Leong in the quarterfinals, 6-3, 6-1. After that, Eala also bested Thasaporn Naklo 6-1, 6-4 in the semifinals, before topping home player Mananchaya Sawangkaew in the final, winning 6-1, 6-2.

Eala became the first Filipina singles tennis player to win a gold medal at the Southeast Asian Games since Maricris Fernandez did it in 1999. Before that, Pia Tamayo won a gold medal in singles in 1981.

The 33rd Southeast Asian Games will run until December 20th, 2025, but so far, the Philippines has been one of the most successful countries. They have collected a total of 214 medals, out of which 39 are gold, 55 are silver, and 120 are bronze. The Philippines has the most bronze medals out of all countries and is fourth in the overall medal standings.

As for Eala, she will want to use this tournament as fuel for the 2026 season. She is the fifth-highest-ranked player under 21 years of age, just behind Mirra Andreeva, Victoria Mboko, Maya Joint, and Iva Jovic.

Eala has proven multiple times that she has what it takes to compete with the best, and she can also rely on huge fan support all around the world. In 2025, she didn't complete the full season on the WTA Tour, still opting to play some lower-tier events, but it's expected that she will challenge for the seeding spot at Grand Slams in 2026 and play the full season on the Tour.