Geolette Marie Esguerra

Article (news)

Alex Eala at Wimbledon

<p>Saturday, July 4, 2026, at <strong>Wimbledon’</strong>s fabled <strong>Centre Court</strong>—with an audience that included celebrities like T<strong>om Hiddleston, Andrew Garfield, Monica Barbaro, Anna Wintour, Michaela Coel, Sienna Miller, Simone Ashley,</strong> and <strong>Stephen Graham</strong>—our own Alexandra ‘Alex’ Eala officially made this SW19 address part of our National Capital Region (NCR). For all intents and purposes, strawberries and cream can now be served with <em>tuyo</em> and <em>suka</em>, as Centre Court has been annexed as an extension of Eala Avenue!</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1783254030472viber_image_2026-07-04_23-27-48-436.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo courtesy of @wimbledon</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>It was a history-making moment as the first Filipina to reach the third round of <strong>Wimbledon</strong>, the most classic of tennis Grand Slams, faced the defending champion, <strong>Iga Swiatek</strong>. When the dust settled, Eala, the 29th seed, had dispatched Swiatek in straight sets, 7-6 (9), 6-2, becoming the first Filipino player to reach the second week of a Grand Slam. As of this writing, she is set to meet 13th seed<strong> Jasmine Paolini</strong> on Monday night (Philippine time).</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DaaIGUMtngL/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=519&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A1028779.5%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="0" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px;min-width:326px;padding:0px;position:absolute"></iframe></div><blockquote class=" instagram-media-registered" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/DaaIGUMtngL/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" id="instagram-media-payload-0" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15);margin:1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:calc(100% - 2px)"><div style="padding:16px"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DaaIGUMtngL/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%" target="_blank"><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;align-items:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:40px;margin-right:14px;width:40px"><br/></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:100px"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:60px"><br/></div></div></div><div style="padding:19% 0"><br/></div><div style="display:block;height:50px;margin:0 auto 12px;width:50px"><br/></div><div style="padding-top:8px"><div style="color:#3897f0;line-height:18px">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding:12.5% 0"><br/></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;margin-bottom:14px;align-items:center"><div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(0px) translateY(7px)"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;height:12.5px;transform:rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px);width:12.5px;flex-grow:0;margin-right:14px;margin-left:2px"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(9px) translateY(-18px)"><br/></div></div><div style="margin-left:8px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:20px;width:20px"><br/></div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:2px solid transparent;border-left:6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;transform:translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"><br/></div></div><div style="margin-left:auto"><div style="width:0px;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(16px)"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;flex-grow:0;height:12px;width:16px;transform:translateY(-4px)"><br/></div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(-4px) translateX(8px)"><br/></div></div></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center;margin-bottom:24px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:224px"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:144px"><br/></div></div></a><div style="color:#c9c8cd;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DaaIGUMtngL/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color:#c9c8cd;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none" target="_blank">A post shared by Wimbledon (@wimbledon)</a></div></div></blockquote><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><div><br/><br/></div><div><strong>Looking Ahead: Alex Eala&#x27;s Path to the Quarterfinals</strong></div><p>Just a little bit of crystal ball gazing, but Eala defeated Paolini in their one previous meeting, and if Alex can repeat, the bottom half of the draw where she’s to be found is wide open. Noskova, seeded 9th, is the only Top 10 seed left in this half. Sabalenka, Gauff, Pegula, Bencic, and even Osaka are all bunched in the top half of the draw. So yes, it&#x27;s time to send all those prayers and eggs to Santa Clara, that the bright skies over London on Monday will augur a result that will have all tennis fans in the Philippines and abroad celebrating late Monday night.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-2" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DaaItstNQo-/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=519&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A2%2C%22os%22%3A1076003.5%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="877" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-2" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>Alex is now in the Round of 16, and an upset win over Paolini would take her into the quarterfinals—a monumental feat for a Filipino tennis athlete. To put this into context from an ASEAN perspective, Thailand’s <strong>Tamarine Tanasugarn </strong>reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2008, and Indonesia’s <strong>Yayuk Basuki </strong>accomplished the same in 1997. In this 2026 iteration, Thailand’s <strong>Mananchaya Sawangkaew</strong> reached the third round but lost to Karolina Muchova, leaving Alex as the only ASEAN athlete left standing.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-4" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DaZGdiomWlE/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=519&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A4%2C%22os%22%3A1178624.4000000022%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="877" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-4" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>At the post-match interview, we were all touched and moved to tears by the genuine, irrepressible joy that Alex exhibited. “I went to train with my brother and my grandfather every day after school, with my ruffled socks, my light-up shoes, and my chubby cheeks. So to her, this is everything!” In a self-deprecating manner, Alex was already anticipating how some might call her falling to the ground and crying overly dramatic, given that this is only the Third Round, and not the Finals. But as she succinctly explained, unlike a <strong>Swiatek</strong>, or a<strong> Venus</strong> or <strong>Serena (Williams)</strong>, this is all uncharted territory for Alex and the Philippines, and can you blame her for being overjoyed and overwhelmed?</p><div><br/></div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1783254693625Screenshot 2026-07-05 at 8.01.31 PM.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/></div><div><br/></div><p>Over in Canada, the results of this match did not escape our President, who is on a state visit to Canada. He immediately congratulated Alex and commented on how she’s doing wonders for Pinoy Pride and touching Filipinos wherever they may be in the world. He wished her the best for Monday’s Round of 16 match.</p><div><br/></div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1783254770986Screenshot 2026-07-05 at 8.01.37 PM.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/></div><div><br/></div><p>There’s still so much to talk about, but a number of them are best reserved for post-Round of 16, with the hope that Alex can move on to the Quarters and Semis. It may not have originally been the intent, but grass has now become the surface where she excels. The hard courts (the upcoming <strong>US</strong> and <strong>Australian Opens</strong>) were supposed to be her favorite, and clay (the <strong>French Open</strong>) her weakest.</p><div><br/></div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1783254797806Screenshot 2026-07-05 at 8.01.37 PM 1.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/></div><div><br/></div><p>As of now, it may still be a long shot to predict that her very first official WTA Tour win will be at the<strong> Grand Slam of Wimbledon</strong>, but just as the Filipino-made Slazenger balls are round, who knows what will happen. And yes, I’m saying her first <strong>WTA Tour Win</strong>; for despite what other writers may say, both <strong>Birmingham</strong> and <strong>Guadalajara </strong>are <strong>WTA 125 </strong>events—good for amassing points, but not considered as official WTA Tour events, which start with the <strong>WTA 250</strong> events. WTA 125s are equivalent to the Men’s Challenger Tour—the secondary tier of Women’s pro tennis.</p><p>It&#x27;s like saying I sent a winless PBA team to the PBA D-League, and now want to count their wins in the Developmental League as official PBA wins. And I really wish we’d get this right instead of misleading the public by dressing up Alex’s previous accomplishments.</p><p>On to Monday, and storming the heavens with prayers!</p>

<p>Alexandra Eala makes history as the first Filipina to reach the second week of a Grand Slam at Wimbledon 2026. Read about her emotional journey to the Round of 16.</p>

Alexandra Eala makes history as the first Filipina to reach the second week of a Grand Slam at Wimbledon 2026. Read about her emotional journey to the Round of 16.

Ruffled Socks, Light Up Shoes, and Chubby Cheeks: Alex Eala’s Historic Wimbledon R16 Victory

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Ruffled Socks, Light Up Shoes, and Chubby Cheeks: Alex Eala’s Historic Wimbledon R16 Victory

Philip Cu-Unjieng

Published July 05, 2026 05:00 PM PHT

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Updated July 06, 2026 09:17 AM PHT

Read More:

Alex Eala

Wimbledon

Tennis

Grand Slam

History

Pinoy Pride

Victory

Round of 16

Centre Court

Iga Swiatek

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