https://www.scmp.com/rss/522932/feed She is a professional tennis player from the Philippines, currently ranked No. 56, the highest in her nation’s history. She was the first Filipina to play at Wimbledon. She won the 2022 US Open girls’ singles title, reaching a WTA Tour-level final at Eastbourne, and the Miami Open semifinals. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Xinhua,Agence France-Presse,Reuters Xinhua,Agence France-Presse,Reuters China’s Jerry Shang Juncheng opened his Australian Open campaign with a four-set win over former top-10 player Roberto Bautista-Agut on Monday, but Philippines trailblazer Alexandra Eala was unable to deliver for her adoring fans in a first-round defeat to the United States’ Alycia Parks. In the headline night match, Novak Djokovic began his hunt for a record ‌25th grand slam title with a 6-3, 6-2, ‍6-2 win over unseeded Spaniard Pedro Martinez, the Serb easing pre-tournament concerns about ⁠his... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3340405/australian-open-chinas-jerry-shang-upsets-ex-world-top-10-player-power-round-2?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3340405/australian-open-chinas-jerry-shang-upsets-ex-world-top-10-player-power-round-2?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Jan 2026 07:35:45 +0000 Lars Hamer Lars Hamer The 2023 Prudential Hong Kong Open champion Leylah Fernandez got her tournament off to a winning start on Tuesday when she beat China’s Wang Xiyu in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4. Fernandez, ranked world No 22, dispatched Wang in one hour and 25 minutes on centre court at the Victoria Park Tennis Stadium and said the evening’s match was a lesson in staying focused. The 23-year-old Canadian was just one of a number of the tournament’s biggest names in action on Tuesday, with No 1 seed Belinda Bencic of... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3330668/hong-kong-open-staying-focused-key-holder-leylah-fernandez-she-beats-wang-xiyu?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3330668/hong-kong-open-staying-focused-key-holder-leylah-fernandez-she-beats-wang-xiyu?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Oct 2025 13:10:52 +0000 Lars Hamer Lars Hamer Hong Kong tennis player Maggie Ng Man-ying came close to pulling off a huge upset in the first qualifying round of the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open on Saturday, before bowing out 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 to Lu Jiajing, who is ranked more than 1,000 places above her. Wild card Ng was up 4-1 in the final set after securing an early break, but could only watch as Lu turned the tie on its head, winning the match on centre court at Victoria Park Tennis Stadium in two hours and one minute. Ng usually plays... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3330311/prudential-hong-kong-open-wild-card-ng-within-moments-shock-win-qualifiers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3330311/prudential-hong-kong-open-wild-card-ng-within-moments-shock-win-qualifiers?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Oct 2025 09:39:00 +0000 Lars Hamer Lars Hamer The Prudential Hong Kong Open has added four new players to the roster, including former winner Leylah Fernandez, after several high-profile names dropped out of the event, organisers confirmed on Saturday. The 2023 champion Fernandez will be joined by Tokyo Olympic singles champion Belinda Bencic, 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin and Greek star Maria Sakkari. Earlier this week, Emma Raducanu and Naomi Osaka both pulled out of the competition at Victoria Park for the second year... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3329518/hong-kong-open-former-winner-leylah-fernandez-among-4-new-faces-after-several-pull-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3329518/hong-kong-open-former-winner-leylah-fernandez-among-4-new-faces-after-several-pull-out?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Oct 2025 09:58:13 +0000 Mike Chan Mike Chan Naomi Osaka and rising star Alexandra Eala are set to light up the city’s tennis scene in October, after both committing to play in the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open. The 20-year-old Eala’s participation has been confirmed days after she made history by becoming the first player from the Philippines to win a grand slam match in the Open era, doing so at the US Open in New York. Japan’s former world No 1 Osaka is also on a roll, having on Wednesday continued her resurgence by reaching the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3324318/naomi-osaka-alexandra-eala-headline-next-months-prudential-hong-kong-open?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3324318/naomi-osaka-alexandra-eala-headline-next-months-prudential-hong-kong-open?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Sep 2025 08:06:12 +0000 Reuters Reuters The US Open second round kicks off on Wednesday, with Novak Djokovic pursuing his quest for a record 25th grand slam title, while women’s top seed Aryna Sabalenka continues her title defence and home favourite Ben Shelton faces veteran Pablo Carreno Busta. Another interesting tie features Britain’s Emma Raducanu and Indonesia’s Janice Tjen, who play at 11pm, Hong Kong time. Raducanu beat qualifier Ena Shibahara in the opening round for her first victory at the tournament since winning the title... https://www.scmp.com/sport/tennis/article/3323335/us-open-philippines-alexandra-eala-indonesias-tjen-join-big-guns-start-second-round?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/tennis/article/3323335/us-open-philippines-alexandra-eala-indonesias-tjen-join-big-guns-start-second-round?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Aug 2025 11:00:16 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The historical significance was not lost on Coleman Wong, even at 21 years old. The excitement of winning his first main draw singles match at a grand slam tournament was not just about him. Wong knew full well that his first-round victory at the US Open on Monday made him the first men’s player from Hong Kong to win a grand slam singles match since the Open era began in 1968. “It’s a big moment for me and also my family, Hong Kong people here and back at home,” Wong said. “It means a lot.” Wong... https://www.scmp.com/sport/tennis/article/3323123/us-open-coleman-wong-happy-embrace-moment-ready-go-all-walton-clash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/tennis/article/3323123/us-open-coleman-wong-happy-embrace-moment-ready-go-all-walton-clash?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Aug 2025 23:45:07 +0000 Lars Hamer Lars Hamer Alexandra Eala paid tribute to her supporters after she made history on Sunday by becoming the first player from the Philippines to win a tennis grand slam match in the Open era. The 20-year-old staged a remarkable recovery to beat No 14 seed Clara Tauson 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 in their first-round match, after the Dane led 5-1 in the third set. The New York metropolitan area is one of the largest Filipino diasporas in the western hemisphere, with more than 260,000 people claiming heritage from the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3323020/filipino-tennis-star-eala-makes-history-us-open-first-round-win?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3323020/filipino-tennis-star-eala-makes-history-us-open-first-round-win?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Aug 2025 04:17:55 +0000 Hyewon Lee Hyewon Lee Alexandra Eala has a remarkable list of “firsts” at just 20 years old – among them, becoming the first Filipino woman to reach the main draw of Wimbledon in the Open era. Last week, Eala stepped onto the Centre Court for a first-round clash against former Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejčíková. Wearing Nike’s custom-made gift – a hair tie featuring a sampaguita, the Philippines’ national flower – Eala claimed the opening set 6-3, but the Czech player rallied to win the next two sets 6-2 and... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/celebrities/article/3318081/meet-alexandra-eala-first-filipina-reach-wimbledons-main-draw-born-sports-loving-family-she-studied?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/celebrities/article/3318081/meet-alexandra-eala-first-filipina-reach-wimbledons-main-draw-born-sports-loving-family-she-studied?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Jul 2025 03:10:23 +0000 SCMP Sport,Agencies SCMP Sport,Agencies Zheng Qinwen said she would not be overacting to slumping out of Wimbledon in the first round for the third year running, calling her defeat at the hands of Katerina Siniakova “just another match I lost on grass”. The fifth seed was beaten 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 by the world No 81, the second time in three years Siniakova has knocked her out in the opening round. While Siniakova is ranked far lower in singles, the Czech Republic player is the world’s best women’s doubles player, and has won 10 grand... https://www.scmp.com/sport/tennis/article/3316556/zheng-qinwen-knocked-out-wimbledon-first-round-third-year-row?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/tennis/article/3316556/zheng-qinwen-knocked-out-wimbledon-first-round-third-year-row?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Jul 2025 15:00:32 +0000