ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA is on track for another recognition before she plunges back into action closer to home at the start of the Asian swing on Thursday in Singapore and the Asian Games (Asiad) next week in Japan.
Ms. Eala, as one of the tour leg winners in the just-concluded North American hard-court swing, headlines the race in the “Star of the Swing” poll by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) as the season shifts to Asia.
The 21-year-old Filipina, ranked No. 18 in the world, has a whopping 78% of over 5,000 votes as of writing time for a runaway lead over seven other candidates.
Ms. Eala qualified in the “Star of the Swing” on the grand hardcourts of North America after winning her maiden WTA Tour title in the WTA 500 Mubadala DC Open in Washington last month with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 comeback victory over home bet Jessica Pegula.
She also netted her biggest career seeding at No. 29 in the US Open, where she made it to the third round.
Newly-minted US Open champion and world No. 1 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan follows suit at 16% while Canada Open winner Iga Swiatek of Poland (WTA No. 9) is at 3%.
Other candidates include US Open runner-up Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus (No. 2), Cincinnati winner Coco Gauff of USA (No. 4), Monterey winner Diane Parry of France (No. 30) and Guadalajara winner Iva Jovic of USA (No. 13).
Completing the list is the world No. 1 pair of Katerina Siniakova of Czechia and Taylor Townsend of USA, who ruled the US Open doubles to complete a career Grand Slam after previously winning the 2024 Wimbledon, 2025 Australian Open and 2026 French Open.
Last July, Ms. Eala also earned the “Star of the Swing” for the grass-court season in Europe after a WTA 125 title in Birmingham and a Round of 16 finish in Wimbledon with 89% of the total votes. She bested Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova (7%) and runner-up Karolina Muchova (3%), both from Czechia.
Ms. Eala is hoping to carry on that momentum into the Asian swing, beginning with a Round 2 duel against No. 180 Tatiana Prozorova in the WTA 500 Singapore Open on Thursday at the OCBC Arena.
Court designation and game time are still to be announced with the lefty ace gaining a first-round bye and extra days off as the No. 3 seed.
Ms. Eala is looking to settle some unfinished business in Singapore after a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Simona Waltert of Switzerland in the qualifying round last year when she was still outside the Top 100.
It’s also part of her preparation for the Asiad on Sept. 27 to Oct. 2 in Nagoya with hopes of improving her two bronze medals in women’s and mixed doubles events in the 2023 Hangzhou Games.
Listed in the women’s singles and women’s doubles, Ms. Eala is the Asiad title favorite as the highest-ranked WTA player and especially with the absence of reigning gold medalist Zheng Qinwen of China.
At the expense of it though, Ms. Eala will have to skip the China Open in Beijing, one of the mandatory 1000-level tourneys in the WTA Tour calendar on Sept. 30 to Oct. 11, for a possible $10,000 fine from the WTA.
The Philippine Tennis Association has already written an appeal for an exemption waiver due to national duties for Ms. Eala but the WTA has not responded yet.
She will return to WTA Tour after her Asiad campaign in the Wuhan Open, still in China, on Oct. 12 to 18. — John Bryan Ulanday