Yes, Alex Eala speaks Spanish – and that is only one of the lesser-known details about the Filipino No. 18. Below are 20 verified Alex Eala facts, grouped by topic: languages, her game, the Rafa Nadal Academy, her family and the firsts she has collected. Numbers are as of 8 October 2026.
Alex Eala speaks Spanish: languages and life in Spain
She speaks three languages
Eala speaks Filipino, English and Spanish. She has trained in Spain since 2018, and her Spanish developed during those years in Mallorca.
She gave interviews in Spanish at the Madrid Open 2026
At the Madrid Open in April 2026 she answered questions from Spanish media in Spanish, which drew attention in the Philippine press. Some outlets called her "fluent"; that is the media's word, not hers – she says her Spanish is still improving.
She has lived in Spain for almost eight years
In April 2026 she said she had lived in Spain for almost eight years. She moved to Mallorca in 2018 to train at the Rafa Nadal Academy and is still based there for training.
Facts about her tennis game
She is left-handed with a two-handed backhand
She plays left-handed, which is relatively rare on the WTA Tour, and hits her backhand with two hands.
She is 1.75 m tall
Alex Eala's height is 1.75 m, or 5 ft 9 in. She was born on 23 May 2005, which makes her 21.
Her favourite surface on paper is hard court – but grass has served her best
Her WTA biography lists hard courts as her preferred surface, and most of her matches are played on them (26-13 in 2026). On grass, however, she went 12-4 in 2026, with a title in Birmingham, a semifinal in Berlin and the fourth round at Wimbledon. Clay is her weakest surface so far (4-6 in 2026).
She has beaten nine top-10 players
Her record against the top 10 is 9-5 (as of 17 August 2026), including two wins over Iga Swiatek and wins over Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula. The full list is on our Alex Eala records page.
Rafa Nadal Academy facts
A junior title earned her a place at the academy
In January 2018 she won Les Petits As, the 14-and-under event in Tarbes, France, as the first wildcard champion in its history. The title led to a scholarship at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor, where she has trained since 2018.
She finished school at the academy
She completed the academy's high-school programme in 2023 and still trains there today.
Her coach is Joan Bosch
The WTA lists Joan Bosch of the Rafa Nadal Academy as her current coach. Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal's uncle and former coach, joined her team around the Miami Open 2025.
Alex Eala facts about her family
Her mother was a national swimmer – not an Olympian
Her mother, Rizza Maniego-Eala, swam for the Philippines and won bronze in the 100 m backstroke at the 1985 SEA Games in Bangkok. She is sometimes called an Olympic swimmer, but no record of Olympic participation has been found.
Her grandfather was her first coach
Her maternal grandfather, Roberto Maniego, introduced her to tennis when she was four years old.
Her brother played college tennis in the United States
Her brother, Miko Eala, played college tennis for Penn State from 2020 to 2024. Her father, Mike Eala, is a business executive.
Her uncles are well known in Philippine sport and fashion
Noli Eala is a former chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission and former PBA commissioner; Rhett Eala is a fashion designer. More on the family is in the Alex Eala biography.
Firsts, medals and honours
She won the first WTA Tour title for the Philippines
On 3 August 2026 she beat Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the rain-delayed final of the Mubadala DC Open in Washington, a WTA 500 event, winning the last nine games.
She is the highest-ranked Southeast Asian player in WTA history
Her career high is No. 18, first reached on 24 August 2026. No Filipino and no player from Southeast Asia had been ranked that high before. Her current position is tracked on the Alex Eala ranking page.
She won a junior Grand Slam singles title
At the US Open 2022 she won the girls' singles without dropping a set, the first junior Grand Slam singles title for a Filipino. She also won the girls' doubles at the Australian Open 2020 and Roland Garros 2021.
She has SEA Games gold and two Asian Games bronze medals
She won singles gold at the SEA Games in Thailand in December 2025 and singles bronze at the Asian Games in Hangzhou (held in 2023) and Aichi-Nagoya 2026. She did not play the Paris 2024 Olympics.
She shared the PSA Athlete of the Year award with Carlos Yulo
The Philippine Sportswriters Association named her and gymnast Carlos Yulo co-Athletes of the Year for 2025. In 2026 she was also included in TIME100 Next and Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia.
She plays a homecoming exhibition in December 2026
On 8 December 2026 she faces Indonesia's Janice Tjen in an exhibition, "Alex Eala Live: Game. Set. Celebrate.", at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan. Short answers to more questions are on the Alex Eala FAQ page.