Alex Eala on her love life, and it isn’t zero
In tennis, “Love” means a score of zero. But when it comes to her love life and making time for love, it’s not a “love” for tennis star Alexandra “Alex” Eala, the highest-ranked Filipino player of all time.
“Time to love? I love everybody. I love so much. I love my family. I love my job. I love my friends. I love myself,” the 21-year-old Filipino tennis sensation answered when I asked her if she had time in her grueling schedule of practices, tournaments, meet-and-greets, and press interviews—to love.
“So there is so much love. There is so much love in my life,” she stressed at a press conference organized by BPI, the giant bank whose logo she literally wears on her sleeve during her matches and where her parents Mike Eala and the former Rizza Maniego reportedly met, at its head office in Makati.
Because play is work for her, and work means play, she makes time to win both the game and the life she lives outside of it. “Gym is a non-negotiable. Proper sleep is a non-negotiable.”
“I put effort into nurturing because a lot of the times, especially when I’m traveling so much for my job, and I’m sure a lot of you can relate, that sometimes your career can become your whole life. And the work-life balance becomes off-balance. But one of my goals that I had in the start of the year was to make more friends on tour, and I think I have super special relationships with some of the girls on tour. That’s something that I love.
“So I love to go out with them when our schedules align. I love to try new places. When I’m traveling a lot, I love to try the food of each country."
“I’ve started to read. So I’m trying to tap into different things. It’s difficult to have hobbies that are other sports or physically demanding because I do give everything that I have into the sport that I’m in.”
“But yeah, I think it’s still a process for me. It’s a process of getting to know myself and learning what I want,” said Alex, who the night before was just feted at Malacañang by a gushing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
She recalled she enjoyed the Bad Bunny concert in Stockholm that she went to after Wimbledon, saying, “It was incredible. I had so much fun. I was there with my friends and it was an amazing way for me to disconnect. I was very starstruck. I had so much fun and you could see me screaming in the videos and everything, so it was a great experience.”
The lady who has a legion of starstruck fans gets starstruck, too. Alex recalls also feeling that when she met tennis legend Billie Jean King in Wimbledon. “She has done a lot for women and equality.”
Alex also said she will be “starstruck” if ever she meets her childhood idol Maria Sharapova.
“I think if I ever meet her, I will be starstruck. And the fact that she’s commenting on my post means she knows who I am, so that’s a win. I’ll take it.”
At Wimbledon 2026, Alex became the first Filipino singles player to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam in the Open Era.
Splurge or save?
Asked whether she and Turkish tennis player Zeynep Sonmez will now shop for their matching Bottegas after her reported 300,000-pound Wimbledon earnings, Alex, who described her style as “girly and a little edgy,” didn’t rule it out. “We have talked about going shopping together and getting those matching bags. So I think I’m going to see her again maybe in the US or Canada. So we will get together then for sure.”
It will be recalled they said in a vlog that became viral that they delayed the purchase of those bags till they got “Grand Slam” money.
Asked what would be her first big investment with her Wimbledon earnings, Alex said, “My first big investment in general, not just with my earnings from Wimbledon, but my earnings in general—I invest in my future. So, I save a lot of money. I like to be cautious with my money. I’m still so young, so I’m so lucky and blessed to be under the guidance of my parents and BPI to learn to manage that well.”
“When it comes for example, to luxury items, I save and I make smart decisions before I buy something that is a luxury. But on other things, I would splurge,” she confessed.
So what things does Alex allow herself to splurge on?
When it comes to her recovery after her matches, she splurges on “massages, nutrition, supplements, doctors’ appointments.” If she has to play two days after a long flight, she will fly business class.
“So those are the kind of investments that I put on myself for my future.”
Steel sampaguita
Alex remembers how she loved the custom-made hair tie inspired by the sampaguita that was given to her by Nike ahead of her Wimbledon matches in 2025. “Oh my gosh. I felt super beautiful. I felt confident on court, and I was ready to play.”
But feminine like the dainty sampaguita though she is, Alex is tough as steel, and not just physically.
“When I’m facing a tough battle, when I know it’s going to be a tough match, I think there is a level of focus that I need to reach and I know if I don’t reach that, then the chances drop. So, I like to seize the opportunities that I have, and it happened to me that I played pretty well, the times that I played top 10. So I like to think that’s also intentional. That’s also because of the preparation that I put in, both weeks before the match and also right before. So, yeah, I think it’s just about the mentality.”
How to be mentally tough?
“I think mental toughness in the life of a professional athlete, especially a professional tennis player, is being practiced every day. And it’s not something that I have exercises for, or it’s not something that I go and I do so-and-so exercises for. It’s naturally developed because of all the situations you’re put in. You’re always in high-pressure situations. You always want to do well. You’re always self- demanding. And you’re always put in these positions where you have to face it head-on, and you have to do what you do best.”
Being tough also means accepting defeat with grace.
“One of the toughest losses I’ve ever had was last year at the WTA Eastbourne Open final in June 2025. It showed how difficult that was for me in the post-match interviews, my initial reactions. But I’m able to look at that match now and I’m able to smile and I can laugh and I’m proud of that whole week. I could also say that the toughest losses were the ones where nobody was really watching me. It wasn’t in the recent years, and kind of bad losses where you play bad, you just have a bad day. And I think those are the more low-key ones that have hurt a little more.”
She has also steeled herself to be the master of her emotions, “rather than let my emotions dictate me. So it’s a way of handling myself better.”
At the end of the day, it’s about being confident. No apologies for self-love.
“Confidence is very important whether you’re in the spotlight or not. Self-love is something that you should nurture and put effort into. I believe in myself a lot. That’s a core, one of the foundations of my mentality and how I approach my competitions.”
Asked about her “Superman” shot at Wimbledon, where she was down but still swinging, she said, “Every time I see that photo and video, I say to myself, ‘Wow, ginawa ko ‘yon?”
