ANALYSIS: At Miami Open, Alex Eala adds to icon-building era

Alex Eala waves to an adoring gallery after the loss in the 2025 Miami Open tennis semifinals. —Reuters

The western tennis media went crazy over Alex Eala during her Slam-slaying run at the Miami Open recently.

Among all the flowers thrown at the 19-year-old’s quick-shuffling feet that stood their ground against three Grand Slam champions was an era-defining one: The Philippines has never seen a tennis talent quite like Alexandra Eala.

That’s true. No Filipino tennis player has axed three straight Slam holders in a single tournament run.

Only two other wild cards—former No. 1s granted free passes for their Hall-of-Fame résumés—had ever reached the semifinals of the Miami Open.

READ: PH athletes hail Alex Eala: ‘You won the hearts of the world’

Eala provided a rare sight, indeed. She added bite to a relatively powerless 90-mph serve by flavoring it with a lefty spin that dragged opponents wide and then terrorized power hitters with the ability to absorb their shots and return them uncomfortably long.

She reached new tennis heights—those which sports fans had never witnessed before.

Iga Swiatek of Poland meets Alexandra Eala of the Philippines after losing to her on Day 9 of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 26, 2025 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Al Bello/Getty Images/AFP

And in doing so, Eala built on a sporting theme that has been running for a generation now.

After all, she isn’t the only one, right?

The Philippines had never seen a gymnast like the pint-sized and powerful Carlos Yulo, a two-time Olympic gold medalist.

READ: Alex Eala says ‘the real work starts’ after Miami Open success

The Philippines had never seen a weightlifter like the trailblazing Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz.

The Philippines had never seen a lean and mean pole vaulter like EJ Obiena. Or scrappy female boxers like Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas.

Go back two decades—the span of a generation—and you’ll find a boxer the Philippines, or the world, had never seen before. A destructive mix of speed, power, and fight IQ rolled into a chiseled light-to-welterweight frame who could end up as the greatest Filipino athlete of all time.

Before Manny Pacquiao, sports fans would turn to history books that celebrated the golden performances of ‘80s athletic icons, or to the country’s pioneering professional basketball league, for heroes.

But when Pacquiao demolished weight divisions to rank himself as one of the sport’s greatest, pound-for-pound, there was a noticeable shift in mentality among the country’s sporting talents. They seemed to have developed that audacity to believe they deserved part of the international podiums.

Suddenly, Yuka Saso was winning the US Women’s Open. The Philippine women’s national football team was playing—and winning—in the World Cup. The men’s national basketball team, a beloved squad long dislodged from its enviable continental perch, was receiving the Asian Games gold medal.

And speaking of Eala, she was winning junior Slams, too.

Her latest run extends what is an ongoing golden era for Philippine sports. She added her name to a list that students will memorize in social studies or history classes.

How long will this golden generation produce more memorable, milestone moments? We’re not sure. And so we sit back and continue to savor the shining results of this era of greatness, one Alex Eala-like run at a time.

(Francis T. J. Ochoa is the sports editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer)