“I think the WTA is a great platform for us professional women tennis players,” she said. “I think it gives us a lot of opportunities. I’m very grateful for everything they have built for us, giving us a chance to become these stars and do what we love on such grand stages.”
There will be more big-stage moments coming soon for Eala, who will face Linda Noskova for a spot in the quarterfinals on Tuesday in the California desert.
If she is successful, that will make it four quarterfinals in the first two and a half months of the 2026 season — one more than she had all of last year.
Eala’s willingness to embrace her culture and share her success with the Filipino community creates the type of synergy that allows tennis to grow on the global stage. At 20, her tennis is already influential. Add in her charisma, humble nature and genuine willingness to be part of a sea change in the sport, and one begins to see the vast potential she represents.
She may be just 20, but Eala is already demonstrating a very mature view of what tennis is becoming. She’s delighted to be playing a role in expanding the reach of tennis, and she’s even happier to know that she’s not the only one helping grow the sport.
“People are developing genuine interest in the sport,” she said.
“Another example of what I’m saying [occurred at the] Australian Open. There were four women from Southeast Asia in the main draw, so that attracted another demographic that maybe was not so present in other years. Another example is my friend Zeynep [Sonmez], she’s from Turkey, she’s been pulling in a lot of Turkish people and from the Middle East.
“So I think if tennis is able to develop in those countries, it will naturally grow the sport and naturally produce high-level competitors.”
