"It means something that a lot of people from Europe or America might not get": Alexandra Eala on the unique weight of SEA Games gold

Alexandra Eala was delighted with her first gold medal at the Southeast Asian Games, bringing her tally to three medals so far in the 33rd edition of the competition in Bangkok. The Filipina had already won three SEA Games medals previously, while this year she secured bronze in the women’s team and mixed doubles events.

It was a triumph without major complications for the current world No. 53, who defeated Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-1, 6-2 in the final to claim the gold medal. She became the third Filipina to take the women's tennis gold, following in the footsteps of Pia Tamayo (1981) and Maricris Fernandez (1999). "I'm so over the moon,” Eala told Olympics.com after her victory. “To be able to bring this sort of pride to my country is something I've only dreamt about.”

Eala's 2025 has been a dream come true, transitioning from a tennis prospect at the start of the year to a reality in a short time. Her breakthrough came in the second half of March when she reached the semifinals of the Miami Open, beating three Grand Slam champions along the way—Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, and Iga Swiatek—the latter two being ranked in the Top 5 at the time of the match.

Eala also won a WTA 125 title in Guadalajara and reached her first WTA 250 final at the Eastbourne International, where she let three match points slip away before falling to Maya Joint in one of the best matches of the season—voted as such by fans for the WTA 250 category.

The 20-year-old Filipina had previously won bronze medals at the 2021 Vietnam SEA Games in singles, women's team, and mixed doubles. This time around, she had already settled for bronze again in the team and mixed competitions, but in singles, she justified her status as favorite by reaching a SEA Games final for the first time.

Eala took the gold without conceding a set in her three singles matches in Bangkok and did not hide her emotion at delivering a gold medal to her country. "It's a very different field, because this is something so unique to Southeast Asia, and it means something that a lot of people from Europe or America might not get. This has been something that people from my region look up to and dream about since they're young.”

With this victory, Eala concludes her participation in the tournament and will finally begin her off-season, just a couple of weeks out from her return to competition. The 20-year-old is set to debut at the ASB Classic starting January 5, before quickly traveling to Melbourne for her first appearance in the Australian Open main draw.

"We don't have a lot of time, but I have to thank my team for that,” she said. “I think they prepped super well. This tournament definitely was one to prep me for Australia with the heat, so I'm excited.”

The former junior No. 1 acknowledged that there won't be much time for rest, noting that her SEA Games campaign is effectively part of her preseason. "Maybe a couple of days,” Eala said of the break she has ahead. “I went straight from pre-season to this, so I haven't had a break in a couple of weeks. But it was worth it. Australia, it's the fun slam, so I'm excited to have fun and give my all."