The rise of the Philippine prodigy and the sadness of Vietnamese tennis

Global phenomenon

Alexandra Eala was born on May 23, 2005 in the Philippines, into a family with a tradition of sports excellence and a special love for tennis. Eala's mother, Rizza Maniego-Eala, was a SEA Games gold medalist in swimming. She picked up a racket at the age of four, inspired by her grandfather - a club player and coach - and her brother Miko, who later played for the Pennsylvania State University tennis team. It was the family environment that ignited her passion and laid the foundation for her career.

Alexandra Eala and tennis legend Rafael Nadal.

At the age of 13, Eala made a bold decision: she moved to Rafael Nadal’s tennis academy in Mallorca, Spain. Fortunately, her brother Miko was also accepted into the academy at the same time, helping her adjust to her new life. Here, Eala had access to top-notch facilities and guidance from experienced coaches, including Rafael Nadal. In 2023, she graduated from the academy with Nadal and Iga Swiatek – the then world No. 1 female tennis player, who would later become her “defeated opponent” in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Miami Open.

Before overcoming Iga Swiatek, Eala stunned the tennis world round by round. First was her victory over world No. 25 and 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko with a score of 7-6 (2), 7-5. She became the first Filipino player in history to defeat an opponent ranked in the world's top 30.

Not stopping there, Eala really overcame all doubts when defeating the reigning Australian Open champion - Madison Keys with a quick score of 6-4, 6-2. It is worth noting that Madison Keys is in very good form in 2025. In addition to the Grand Slam title, the American player also won the Adelaide WTA and reached the semi-finals of the India Wells WTA. Before losing to Eala, Keys had won 17/18 matches since the beginning of January.

In the semi-finals, Eala only lost to veteran Pegula 1-2 (6-7, 7-5, 3-6) after nearly 2 and a half hours. Although Eala's fairy tale did not end well, she made history. After the tournament, she jumped 65 places in the WTA rankings, from 140th to 75th, making her the first player in the world's top 100. Eala is also the first player from the Philippines - male or female - to achieve this feat.

Before her, the highest-ranked female Filipino tennis player was Maricris Gentz, who was only ranked 284th in the world in 1999. Eala broke all limits, becoming a pioneer and the pride of the country.

In the Philippines, Eala’s popularity has created an unprecedented tennis craze. Her watch-groups attract thousands of fans, with one YouTube livestream reaching over 170,000 views in the early morning. This shows that she is not just an athlete but also on the way to becoming a new cultural icon, inspiring a younger generation to pursue the sport. The phenomenon that Eala has created is all the more special because tennis is a “neglected” sport in the Philippines, where basketball and boxing are “kings”.

The sadness of Vietnamese tennis

While a Southeast Asian country produces “gems”, tennis in Vietnam is facing many difficulties. Two weeks ago, Vietnam’s number 1 male tennis player - Ly Hoang Nam announced that he would temporarily stop playing professional tennis at the age of 28 to officially switch to pickleball.

Although the pickleball “fever” has cooled down, many tennis players in Vietnam - from amateurs to professionals - have decided to switch to this sport. Ly Hoang Nam has not played tennis for a long time and has dropped to 744th in the world. However, he is still the highest-ranked Vietnamese tennis player on the ATP World Tour. This is a sad but familiar reality of Vietnamese tennis.

Sharing with the press, Ly Hoang Nam admitted that pickleball is a sport that is more suitable for the physical condition of Vietnamese people, and is also more accessible than tennis. He said: "After careful consideration, I have decided to temporarily stop playing professional tennis to focus on pickleball."

In the women's arena, Savanna Ly Nguyen has also held the No. 1 position in Vietnam for a long time. This tennis player born in 2000 won a silver medal at the SEA Games at the age of 19, but she soon slowed down. The highest women's singles ranking that Savanna Ly Nguyen achieved was 808 in July 2023. Currently, Savanna Ly Nguyen has dropped to 1309 in the world and rarely appears in the media.

There are many reasons why Vietnamese tennis cannot develop, even though it has had young talents as potential as Eala. The most significant of these is finance. The investment costs for tennis players are huge, not to mention other objective factors that affect their progress.

Revealing the young star expected to succeed Ly Hoang Nam

Young talent Le Tien Anh - who is expected to become the new Ly Hoang Nam - has just won the men's singles and men's doubles championship at the 2025 ATF U14 Cup Asian tennis tournament.

With this achievement, Tien Anh not only affirmed his position in the U14 age group but also brought hope for a new generation of talent, ready to continue the successes that Ly Hoang Nam had made.

Le Tien Anh, currently ranked 5th in the world in the U14 age group according to Universal Tennis Rating (UTR), showed impressive performance at the tournament. He and other young Vietnamese players overcame fierce competition from representatives of 13 countries and territories such as Japan, Korea, the US, India, Singapore... to reach the two finals. In the men's singles final, Tien Anh faced his compatriot Le Nam Du. With powerful forehands and decisive attacking style, he won with a score of 7-6, 6-3.

In the men's doubles event, Tien Anh combined with Nguyen Ngoc Huu to defeat the pair Le Phu Gia - Dinh Tien Dung with a score of 1-6, 6-3, 7-6, completing a convincing double title.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/Tieu-diem-van-hoa/su-troi-day-cua-than-dong-philippines-va-noi-buon-cua-quan-vot-viet-nam-i763578/