19-year-old Filipina tennis star Alexandra Eala has seemingly come from nowhere and burst onto the tennis scene at the 2025 Miami Open.
The truth is, Eala has been working at her craft for years. She comes from an athletic family. Eala is carrying on the family legacy and putting the Philippines on the tennis map.
Here are a few fascinating facts about Alexandra Eala that you might not have known.
Alexandra Eala's mother and brother were athletes
Alexandra Eala's mom, Rosemarie "Rizza" Maniego-Eala, was a competitive swimmer who won the bronze medal in the 100-meter backstroke in the 1985 Southeast Asian Games.
Eala's brother, Michael or "Miko" played college tennis from 2020-2024 at Penn State University. He was also a student at the Rafael Nadal Academy.
Congratulations to Miko Eala for graduating from The Pennsylvania State University with a degree in BS Finance! 🎓🎉 pic.twitter.com/cPGqb6y8i3
— Dyan Castillejo (@DYANCASTILLEJO) May 6, 2024
Her uncle Noli is the former Philippines Basketball Association commissioner.
She is a 2023 graduate of the Rafael Nadal Academy
By now, everyone knows that Eala was a student at the Rafael Nadal Academy. Her 2023 graduation picture with Rafa and Iga Swiatek has gone viral.
In 2023 Alexandra Eala graduated from The Rafa Nadal Academy and had her picture taken next to Rafa and Iga.
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) March 26, 2025
2 years later she's playing Iga Swiatek at the Miami Open in the biggest match of her life.
Love this. pic.twitter.com/F18uosWr3Z
She left home at the age of 12 to study and live at Nadal's academy in Spain. During that time, Rafa's Uncle Toni worked with her on her tennis technique. It was fitting that Toni Nadal flew to Miami to watch her earn the biggest win of her career over World No. 2 Iga Swiatek.
She is not in a relationship wtih emerging ATP star Coleman Wong
Coleman Wong, the 20-year-old emerging tennis star from Hong Kong who defeated Ben Shelton at the Miami Open, was rumored to be in a relationship with Eala.
Though both were longtime students at the Rafael Nadal Academy and are trying to initiate a tennis revolution in their respective countries, Eala was quick to clarify they are just friends who essentially grew up together.
Alexandra Eala was a Grand Slam juniors champion in singles and doubles
Proof that her game translates to all surfaces and formats, Eala is a former Grand Slam singles and doubles champion, winning one per year from 2020 to 2022. She won the 2020 Australian Open and 2021 French Open in doubles and the 2022 US Open in singles.
Eala shares victory with her mom dad brother Miko and Coach Adrien 🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭 pic.twitter.com/RzXNbT565i
— Dyan Castillejo (@DYANCASTILLEJO) September 10, 2022
She has not yet gotten through the qualifying rounds at the Grand Slams at the WTA level, but her rising ranking, now at World No. 75 in the live rankings, will open doors for her to earn more wild cards or main draw spots in the coming months.
Watch Alexandra Eala's Miami Open semifinal match on Thursday, March 27 on the Tennis Channel. Estimated start time is 8:30 PM EDT.