Eala played tennis as a youngster with her brother and grandfather, telling BBC TV she “still can’t keep up” with her older brother, even now.
She first rose to prominence in 2022, when she was on the cover of Vogue in her home country after becoming the first Filipina to win a junior Grand Slam title with her US Open triumph.
She rose to wider notice after her 2025 Miami Open breakthrough – which ironically began with another victory over Swiatek.
Aged 19 and ranked outside the top 100, Eala took out Grand Slam champions Swiatek, Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys to reach the semi-finals.
Since then, she has reached the world’s top 30, claimed two titles on the second-tier WTA 125 tournaments and finished runner-up at Eastbourne last year.
In the build-up to this year’s Wimbledon, she beat world number two Elena Rybakina and eighth-ranked Elina Svitolina in Berlin, and also teamed up with Venus Williams in doubles.
Her success has meant her popularity sky-rocketed. Queues snake around the Grand Slam grounds when she is scheduled on an outside court, while viewing parties are held for her matches back home.
That brings with it a pressure both good and bad. If Eala’s wins are celebrated as a point of national pride in the Philippines, then her losses are also felt deeply.
It was a situation that got on top of her at the Australian Open, where she was overwhelmed by the amount of people who simply queued to watch her practice.
“I try to be as authentic as I can. I believe in being genuine,” Eala said.
“Although I’m very grateful and very welcoming of all the support that I get, me, my team and my family are the ones who have been putting in the hours.
“We’re the ones who are here at the courts 12 hours in a row. We’re the ones who wake up early, who come back home late.
“I think that work ethic is really what keeps me grounded.”
