Alex Eala sends classy message after Hong Kong Open win and makes revealing admission

Alex Eala admitted she was “super happy” with her performance in her opening win against Emerson Jones at the Hong Kong Open.

Eala, who suffered an agonising three-set defeat at the Pan Pacific Open to eventual champion Diana Shnaider last week, raced into a 4-0 lead inside the opening 20 minutes in their round of 32 clash, but the 18-year-old broke back to reduce her arrears.

The 21-year-old, who had the lion’s share of support from the crowd, eventually got over the line to take the opener 6-4 in 47 minutes against the world No 132.

Just the one break was needed in the second set as Eala closed out a 6-4, 6-3 victory in one hour, 23 minutes on Tuesday, with the second seed set to face Tereza Valentova in the next round.

Following the win, the Filipina thanked those in the stands for their amazing support and sent a classy message to the young Australian.

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“Yes, super happy to be here in Hong Kong,” she said in her on-court interview. “Super happy with the performance, super happy to be here in front of all you guys again.

“It was a really good match. Emerson is such a sweetheart off the court and such a great player on it, so looking forward to many more matches together in the future.”

The Washington Open champion tends to get a huge amount of support wherever she goes these days but as Hong Kong is closer than most tournaments to her native Philippines, the event clearly holds a special place in her heart.

She added, “I cannot say enough how much I enjoy playing in front of you guys. There are few places in the world that would be better to cap off the season, this amazing season, than here in Hong Kong, very close to home.”

In last year’s tournament, Eala lost to eventual champion Victoria Mboko in three sets in the second round, so in 2026, she will have designs on going all the way at the WTA 250 event.

The Filipina is hoping to end her season on a high, and a second WTA title would be the perfect bookend to that. If she goes all the way in Hong Kong, Eala will jump to a career-high ranking of 15, two spots above her current position.

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