First reported last November 19 2025, Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Pato Gregorio assured fans that Filipina tennis superstar Alex Eala is still bound to play in the first ever 2026 Philippine Women’s Open despite scheduling concerns with the 2026 Australian Open.
A Chance for a Dream Home Coming? Or Going Deep in the Target Tournament?
If there’s one tennis grand slam tournament that the 20 year old Eala has not yet made a Round of 32 match yet, that will be the hard court of Australian Open.
This 2025, the Rafa Nadal Academy alumni has made her debut in all the other grand slam tournaments which are the French Roland Garros (clay court), Wimbledon Open (grass court) and US Open (hard court).
During a press briefing for the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Junior Championships 2025 in Pasay last November 19, PSC Chairman said that “she will join”.
He then further elaborated his answer by saying the only time that Alex wouldn’t be part of the inaugural 2026 PH Open is if she succeeds to go deep in the playoffs and reach the finals.
“The only chance na hindi makakalaro si Alex is kapag nagka-conflict with the Australian Open in terms of the elimination, semis, and Finals but that is not a problem. But if Alex succeeds in the Australian Open, we will be very happy,” he clarified.
“But if after the second or third round she’s available already, then she’s here,” Gregorio assured.
So the idea of a home coming for Alex can be ruined if she wins a title or plays in the playoffs.
A Hectic January to February 2026 for World Ranked No. 50
The first 2 months of 2026 will surely be a mind boggling schedule for the world ranked No. 50 Alex as the Australian Open qualifying rounds run from January 13-16, with a one-day break before the main draw play begins January 18.
The Philippine Women’s Open is scheduled from January 26 to February 1 2026.
Is the Philippine Women’s Open now more than just a Reality?
So after pitching the idea of hosting a prestigious event in the Philippines last October 1 2025, it appears that the event is becoming more than just a reality?
PSC Chairman Gregorio shared some updates about their bid which sounds like it will now be a 100% a reality.
“In the next few days, we’re going to renovate the tennis courts in Rizal [Memorial Sports Complex] and we’re just making sure to add more bleacher sets. We hope to accommodate more than 2,000 people in January and moving forward, if we want to bid for bigger WTA events, maybe we can go to bigger stadiums just like in Clark,”
He then added his vision of holding more WTA events in the country beyond 2026.
”Every year, hopefully in the next three years, we would have WTA [events] here in the Philippines,”
