SIX FILIPINO CELEBRITIES led by boxing legend Manny Pacquiao will join Alexandra “Alex” Eala in her homecoming event on Dec. 8 at the gargantuan Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
Also in the fray are Anne Curtis, Piolo Pascual, Andrea Brillantes, Donny Pangilinan and Julia Barreto who will join Mr. Pacquiao and Ms. Eala in a celebrity match, where details and formats are yet to be announced.
The event will also include matches between Filipino junior players and rising stars under the supervision and development of the Philippine Tennis Association.
The main act in “Alex Eala Live: Game. Set. Celebrate,” however, will be Ms. Eala’s exhibition match against fellow Southeast Asian star Janice Tjen of Indonesia.
Ms. Eala, ranked No. 18, and Ms. Tjen, No. 51, are their respective countries’ No. 1 players and considered two of the best young stars in the WTA pro circuit right now ahead of their gigantic duel at the 55,000-seater arena, the world’s second-largest indoor venue.
Tickets, ranging from P618 to P63,705 including a live gala dinner, are already on sale on TicketWorld.
“I love playing tennis in the Philippines, and I’m really excited to come home and share this moment with Filipino fans,” beamed Ms. Eala on the heels of a Round 3 finish at the US Open and a historic guesting in New York Fashion Week.
“Having the opportunity to play at the Philippine Arena, in front of tens of thousands of fans, is something truly special. I’m excited to be part of a moment that brings people together, celebrates our culture, and hopefully creates a historic moment for Philippine tennis.”
“I’m really looking forward to playing Alex (Eala) in Manila and being part of such a special occasion. It’s exciting to see the passion for tennis in the Philippines, and I’m sure it will be an incredible experience playing in front of such a big crowd. I’m really looking forward to being part of it,” added Ms. Tjen.
Ms. Eala, 21, and Ms. Tjen, 24, teamed up in a Final Four run earlier this year in the Abu Dhabi Open. Ms. Tjen, however, holds a 1-0 head-to-head advantage in singles over Ms. Eala after a 6-4, 6-1 in the Sao Paulo Open in Brazil last year.
No Filipino individual athlete has ever played at the gargantuan Philippine Arena until Ms. Eala.
It will mark another milestone for Ms. Eala and Philippine tennis after staging the WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open at the refurbished Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in Manila that also served as the first-of-its-kind international tennis event in the country.
Before the 21-year-old Filipina pride and tennis, the Philippine Arena, that’s usually reserved for local and international concerts, had hosted only basketball events led by Gilas Pilipinas for FIBA and the PBA.
The PBA holds the record for the biggest crowd at the venue with 54,589 fans for Game 7 of the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup between fan favorite Barangay Ginebra and guest team Bay Area.
Gilas also boasts the largest FIBA World Cup game crowd in history in Bocaue with 38,115 fans in the 2023 World Cup opener against the Dominican Republic.
With fast-growing popularity as one of the world’s crowd darlings and highest-ranked players, hopes are high for Ms. Eala to also pull a sizeable fan attendance at home after drawing in huge crowds in every city overseas she had played so far in the WTA Tour. — John Bryan Ulanday