Eala quickly moves on to Abu Dhabi Open 

MANILA, Philippines — Next stop: Abu Dhabi.

Filipina pride Alex Eala turns her focus to the rest of pro tour starting with a stint in the prestigious WTA500 Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open on Monday, February 2, on the heels of a quarterfinal exit in the historic WTA125 Philippine Women's Open.

The 20-year-old sensation did not waste time moving forward, departing Friday for the bustling Middle East city as the first-ever women's pro tennis tourney at her home braved on with an all-foreign Final Four cast at the refurbished Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

"We take it in our stride and move on," said Eala after a 6-4, 6-4 defeat in the Last 8 at the hands of fifth seed Colombian Camila Osorio amid a roaring home crowd edge. "I will just do my best to learn what I can from this match. I just got off a loss so I think my goal in Abu Dhabi is just to try to win and take it match by match."

In Abu Dhabi, Eala listed as a wildcard in the stacked main draw featuring some of the sport's titans, including reigning champion Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, Australian Open finalist Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, Paris Olympics gold medalist Zheng Qinwen of China, Maya Joint of Australia, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, Sofia Kenin of the United States and Barbora Krejcikova of Czechia among the few.

Up for stakes in the Middle East are crucial ranking points for Eala, who eyes to climb higher in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) ranks after a banner 2025 that catapulted her to the world's Top 50, now at No. 49.

"My team is working hard and we're working hard to maintain the level that I'm at and working even harder to go deeper and higher into the rankings," said Eala, ready to take on the world's best in spite of nursing a right leg discomfort at home.

It will be Eala's third stop in a hopeful WTA Tour season campaign after Final Four finish at the WTA 250 ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, and the Philippine Open, on top of a main draw debut in the Australian Open and the exhibition title in Melbourne's Kooyong Classic.

Prior to Abu Dhabi, Eala was the second seed behind top seed Tatjana Maria of Germany (No. 42) — who also got an early boot in the Round of 16 — in Manila with an anticipation from her compatriots to go deeper in the 32-player main draw to no avail.

But contrary to dampener expectations from some after she settled for quarterfinal finish, Eala takes pride and honor from a bigger picture of bringing the WTA Tour for the Philippines, which would only add fuel to her drive leading to Abu Dhabi and the rest of the WTA Tour.

"Ang importante, nandito ako sa Manila, nandito ako Pilipinas at nandito ang WTA," Eala beamed, opting to magnify that feat not only for her but for Philippine tennis as a whole. "My way of giving back to the Filipinos is by working hard and doing my best that I can on the (WTA) circuit. As I've heard from other people, I like to think that I've had somewhat something to do with this tournament coming alive."

And for Eala, that was already an incomparable victory at home not for her but for the next generation of netters including some who had the chance to strut their stuff against world-class players, far more than winning a title.

"That could be an example of how what I've done can help local players. The fact that this tournament is happening is a huge thing for local players. I think that's an example of me doing my part," added Eala, looking to stage another Cinderella run in Abu Dhabi.

The last time Eala, a one-time WTA125 champion, competed in a major tourney as big as the Abu Dhabi was last year u. the WTA1000 Miami Open where started her meteoric rise by slaying three former Grand Slam champions and Top-10 players to barge into the Top 100 and later on Top 50.

That also made her qualify in all Grand Slam tournaments, including this year’s Wimbledon, French Open and US Open, where she became the first Filipina main draw winner in 2025.