The Philippines finally reclaimed the women’s singles tennis gold at the Southeast Asian Games after 26 years, following a dominant straight-sets victory by Alex Eala over Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew on Thursday in Nonthaburi.
Eala, the region’s top-ranked women’s player, dictated the tempo from the opening games and secured a 6-1, 6-2 win built on consistent serving and controlled baseline exchanges. She surged ahead early in the match and held firm in the second set despite a brief interruption caused by disputed line calls, an issue that was resolved mid-set before she closed out the final by winning four straight games.
The gold medal was the country’s first in women’s singles tennis at the SEA Games since Maricris Fernandez’s triumph in 1999. Eala became only the third Filipina to capture the title, joining Fernandez and Pia Tamayo, who won at the 1981 Manila Games. Prior to this, the Philippines’ most recent tennis singles gold came in the men’s division in 2009 through Cecil Mamiit.
The victory capped a productive SEA Games campaign for Eala, who also earned a bronze medal in mixed doubles with Francis Alcantara and was listed as part of the Philippine squad that secured another bronze in the team event. It marked an improvement from her SEA Games debut in 2021, where she collected three bronze medals.
The historic result added to a standout year for the 20-year-old on the international circuit, highlighted by a deep run at the Miami Open, her first Grand Slam main-draw win, a WTA 125 title in Guadalajara, and a rise to a career-high world ranking inside the top 50.
