MANILA – Filipino tennis sensation Alexandra Eala will kick off her campaign at the Australian Open against American Alycia Parks at Melbourne Park on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026.
The 20-year-old reached a career-high No. 49 after advancing to the ASB Classic semifinals in Auckland, New Zealand, on Jan. 10.
Seeded No. 4 in the WTA 250 event, Eala fell to No. 7 seed Chinese Wang Xinyu, 7-5, 5-7, 4-6, in the semis.
At the Kooyong Classic on Wednesday, the 2025 SEA Games gold medalist defeated Croatian Donna Vekic, 6-3, 6-4, in their exhibition match.
Eala also conquered the 2024 Paris Olympics silver medalist at the ASB Classic round of 32, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Eala hopes to carry the momentum when she meets the 6-foot-1 Parks, currently No. 100 in the WTA rankings.
Parks, winner of three WTA 125 titles, peaked at No. 40 in 2023.
The Atlanta native made history on her Grand Slam debut at the 2021 US Open, blasting a 129mph serve to duplicate Venus Williams’ record (achieved in 2007) for fastest serve by a woman in the tournament’s history.
Eala is the first Filipino to win a Grand Slam match in the Open era when she scored a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11) victory over 14th seed Clara Tauson in the first round of the 2025 US Open.
As a wild card at the WTA1000 Miami Open, she beat three Grand Slam champions in a row to reach the semifinals.
Eala earned her first WTA title after prevailing over Hungary’s Panna Udvardy, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, at the Guadalajara 125 Open in Mexico last September. / PNA