Aug 4, 2026, 01:45 AM ET

Alex Eala picked up tennis on basketball courts and concrete in the Philippines, a place where the sport trails basketball and volleyball in popularity.

Hard courts have therefore turned into her natural comfort zone.

Preparing now for the US Open, the final Grand Slam of the year, she returns to the surface tied to many standout moments in her career.

"I prefer the hard court," Eala said in an interview with Talking Tennis.

"It's the one I grew up on. And I think my game naturally is more suited to that."

For Filipino tennis supporters who have tracked her progress, this preference stems from both familiarity and her playing style.

The 21-year-old Filipino star excels with quick, flat groundstrokes and early ball contact.

Hard courts suit her aggressive baseline approach, letting her strike the ball on the rise, control rallies and shift from defense to attack.

Those instincts formed through years of practice, first in Manila and later at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Spain, where much of her growth also occurred on hard courts.

The surface has also framed many of her career highlights.

She gained attention by capturing the 2022 US Open girls' singles title without dropping a set, becoming the first Filipino to win a junior Grand Slam singles crown.

Her ascent continued with a strong showing at the Miami Open in 2025, when she became the first Filipina to beat a Grand Slam champion at a tour-level event in the Open Era. She achieved this three times, beating 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko in the second round, 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the third round and, most notably, five-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals. That performance made her the first woman from the Philippines to reach a WTA Tour semifinal and placed her among the sport's rising talents.

She returned to Flushing Meadows later that year and reached another landmark: Eala beat Denmark's former No. 15, Clara Tauson, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11), in the first round of the 2025 US Open to become the first Filipino in the Open era to win a Grand Slam singles main-draw match.

Within a month, Eala claimed her first WTA 125 singles title at the Guadalajara Open in Mexico, another hard-court event.

And now she has secured her first WTA Tour title, in Washington DC, where the unseeded Filipina overcame No. 7 seed and defending champion Leylah Fernandez, No. 3 seed Naomi Osaka, No. 2 seed Elina Svitolina, and No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula to win the Mubadala DC Open.

That victory in Washington D.C. builds on the momentum from the strongest stretch of her professional career.

She posted a 12-4 record during the European grass-court season, winning the WTA 125 Lexus Birmingham Open, reaching the semifinals of the WTA 500 Berlin Open and advancing to the fourth round at Wimbledon, the deepest Grand Slam run by a Filipino in the Open era, after defeating defending champion Swiatek.

Eala is now preparing for the US Open with a more complete game.

Her serve, once seen as an area for improvement, has become a dependable weapon over the past three seasons.

Eala hit just four aces in 2024 before raising that total to 23 in 2025, per Tennis Head data. This season, she has already more than doubled that figure with 56 aces and counting.

Her success behind the serve has also grown.

After winning just 47.8% of her service points in 2024, she improved that mark to 59.4% in 2025 and has stayed steady at 56.4% this season.

"My focus right now is to prep for the US Open," Eala said during her homecoming in Manila.

"Some good tournaments."

Despite rising popularity and the expectations that follow, Eala maintains that her greatest pressure comes from inside.

"I'm a competitive athlete, so there's pressure, but I think the obligation also comes to myself," she said after defeating Fernandez in Washington D.C.

"I'm a very self-demanding person. I'm a very ambitious person, so I'm definitely happy and welcoming to everyone who wants to support me and go along on this journey. But I know that this is my journey first and foremost, and I have the expectations I have on myself."

After Washington, Eala is set to play at the National Bank Open in Toronto, Canada, before her final warm-up at the Cincinnati Open.

She will then join the "Stars of the Open" exhibition on Aug. 27, just days before the U.S. Open main draw begins at Flushing Meadows.

Eala will arrive in New York to compete on the surface that shaped her game, hosted her biggest wins, and gives her the strongest chance to make more history.

She takes those next steps supported by her success in Washington D.C., traveling with the knowledge that she has a nation behind her and invested in her.

"Maraming, maraming salamat, mga kababayan," Eala said after defeating Pegula in the final.

["Thank you very, very much, my fellow Filipinos."]