Eala joins Kooyong Classic as final prep for Australian Open

MANILA, Philippines -- No rest for the weary. 

Alex Eala, hungry for more, turns her eyes to the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne for her final build-up ahead of her highly anticipated main draw debut in the Australian Open. 

“Until my heart stops. So close yet so far. Thank you Auckland for the warmest hospitality to start the year. I truly felt the wairua,” said Eala, who’s already off to the Land Down Under, following a semifinal run in the ASB Classic in Auckland. 

Eala, ranked No. 53 in the WTA, is one of four WTA players listed so far for the Kooyong Classic scheduled from January 13 to 15, an exclusive, by-invitation-only exhibition tournament serving as a sidelight to the Australian Open.

Joining Eala are 2024 Wimbledon semifinalist and Paris Olympics silver medalist Donna Vecic (WTA No. 69) of Croatia, whom she beat in Auckland, No. 121 and home bet Priscilla Hon and the 42-year-old legend Daniela Hantuchova, a multiple Grand Slam mixed doubles champion from Slovakia.

Eala’s Kooyong Classic stint as the youngest player there comes on the heels of her impressive Auckland campaign for her first tournament this season. 

As the No. 4 seed, the 20-year-old Filipina strung three straight wins before absorbing a 7-5, 5-7, 4-6 loss to China’s Wang Xinyu, WTA No. 57, for a foiled title shot in New Zealand. But not all was lost as she hit a bevy of milestones anew. 

Aside from netting her third career WTA semifinal appearance, Eala is projected to reach a new career-best WTA ranking at No. 49 according to live tracking. 

Her previous best was No. 50 at the end of the 2025 season, making her the first Filipina ever to reach that peak.

Eala did it by slaying Croatian aces  Vekic, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, and WTA No. 82 Petra Marcinko, 6-0, 6-2, as well as WTA No. 52 Magda Linette of Poland, 6-3, 6-2, in the first three rounds.

With American partner Iva Jovic, WTA No. 35, Eala also reached the Final Four in the Auckland doubles before bowing against the third-seeded Chinese tandem of Xu Yifan, WTA No. 40, and Yang Zhaoxuan, WTA No. 44, 7-5, 6-3.

The Filipina-American tandem stunned the seasoned tandem of former World No. 3 Elina Svitolina, now No. 13, of Ukraine and multi-titled Venus Williams of the United States, 7-6 (9-7), 6-1, in Round 1 before a walkover win against Czechia’s Jesika Maleckova (WTA No. 72) and Mexico’s Renata Zarazua (WTA No. 84) in the quarterfinals.

After Kooyong, the lefty sensation heads to the Australian Open, where she has, for the first time ever, earned direct entry into the main draw as a Top-50 player.

The Australian Open remains the only Grand Slam main draw Eala has not played in after the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, after multiple qualifying round exits as a wildcard. 

A winner of the Australian junior doubles crown with Indonesian Priska Madelyn Nugroho in 2020, Eala had only figured in the qualifiers of the Australian Open until this year after her meteoric rise in 2025.