AUSTRALIAN OPEN: EALA FEELS AT HOME

MANILA, Philippines — A perceived homecourt advantage.

This will fuel Alex Eala as she prepares for her debut in the main draw of the Australian Open, which fires off today and boasts the heftiest prize pool in history at Melbourne Park.

Nearly 4,000 miles away from home, the 20-year-old Filipina expects to draw inspiration and strength from her compatriots in what she considers as “homecourt edge” Down Under.

It should serve her well in her much-awaited campaign against the sport titans, beginning tomorrow at around 9:40 a.m. Manila time against power-serving Alycia Parks of the United States.

Parks, 25 years old and six feet tall, holds the record in the US Open with a 129 mph serve that was recorded in 2021. She is currently ranked No. 100 in the world, and Eala at No. 49.

She’s a dangerous foe, and Eala is counting on her fans.

“It’s been amazing. In this part of the world, there are a lot of Filipinos but the turnout this year has grown significantly I would say from the past years, so I’m so happy to see this environment,” she said over the weekend.

“People are excited. When I’m on court, they’re excited to see me. It’s flattering and it makes me feel welcome for sure,” she added.

This year’s Australian Open offers the biggest prize pool ever of $74.9 million. The winners (both in men’s and women’s) will bring home $2.79 million, runnersup $1.45 million and semifinalists $840,000 each.

First-round losers will receive $100,000 (roughly P5.9 million).

Eala, with her steady climb in the world rankings, has become a rock star in Oceania since her stint at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand and the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne last week.

Eala made the Final Four of the Auckland tourney, her third WTA semis appearance, and was awarded the Evonne Goolagong Cawley Trophy in Kooyong as the 2026 exhibition champion following a 6-3, 6-4 mastery of Paris Olympics silver medalist and 2024 Wimbledon semifinalist Donna Vekic of Croatia.

And that should be enough driving force she would need when she slugs it out against the “fastest woman server” in Parks.

“It’s definitely great for confidence,” added Eala, former world junior No. 2 and winner of the Australian Open girls doubles with Indonesian pal Priska Madelyn Nugroho. “Getting matches always helps before Slams, so I’m confident with how I’m playing. It doesn’t mean that matches aren’t going to be tough here so I’m ready for playing here.”

“It feels great. I’m super excited,” Eala added.

2026-01-17T16:31:29Z