MACAU, China — Alexandra Eala, the Philippines’ top-ranked women’s tennis player, will conclude her breakout 2025 season with a high-profile exhibition matchup against world No. 9 Mirra Andreeva of Russia at the MGM Macau Tennis Masters.
The two-day event, featuring teams captained by Grand Slam champions Li Na and Conchita Martínez, begins Saturday at the Macao Forum. Eala, currently ranked No. 53 in the WTA singles standings and a recent Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, joins Li Na’s squad alongside Frenchman Ugo Humbert and Chinese player Juncheng Shang (known as Jerry Shang).
Eala’s campaign opens with a mixed doubles encounter on Saturday at 2 p.m. local time (3:30 p.m. PHT / 1:30 a.m. EST), where she partners with Shang against Andreeva and China’s Wu Yibing, who compete for Martínez’s team.
The centerpiece arrives Sunday at 2 p.m. local time, when Eala and Andreeva renew their rivalry in women’s singles. The pair last met in the 2022 U.S. Open junior quarterfinals, where Eala dominated 6-4, 6-0 en route to claiming the girls’ title — the first junior Grand Slam singles crown for a Filipino player.
Since that encounter, both have risen rapidly through the professional ranks. Andreeva, 18, has established herself as one of the sport’s brightest young talents, winning multiple WTA 1000 titles this year, reaching Wimbledon quarterfinals, and earning an Olympic doubles silver medal in Paris in 2024 (competing as a neutral athlete).
Eala, 20, enjoyed a historic 2025 campaign that included a breakthrough run to the Miami Open semifinals as a wildcard — defeating top players including former No. 1 Iga ?wi?tek — reaching her first WTA final at Eastbourne, and capturing her maiden WTA 125 title in Guadalajara. She became the first Filipino woman to break into the WTA top 100 and later the top 50, peaking at No. 50.
The Macau Masters serves as a team-based exhibition with no ranking points at stake, but it provides valuable high-level competition as players fine-tune their games ahead of the 2026 season. For Eala, the event offers a final competitive test before shifting focus to preparations for the Australian Open, where she will aim to build on her Grand Slam progress — including her first main-draw singles victory at the U.S. Open earlier this year.
The exhibition format features best-of-three sets with a champions tiebreak in the deciding set, blending competitive tennis with festive off-court activities for fans.
In the United States, matches will be available on Tennis Channel. Eala’s participation underscores her growing stature on the international stage and provides Philippine fans with one last chance to see their trailblazing star in action in 2025.
