Again, this was written hours before the match between Filipino tennis sensation Alex Eala and obscure Mika Stojsavijevic set Monday, Oct. 26, 2026 (Philippine time). I bow to deadline edict, you know.
It was the first round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open (WTA 500) at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo, Japan.
With her steady ranking of 20th in the world, Eala was Monday’s heavy favorite against Stojsavijevic, whose world standing is No. 279 as of Aug. 10, according to Wikipedia.
A towering 6-foot-1 against the 5-foot-9 Eala, Stojsavijevic got her highest ranking of 261st on June 8.
Born in London, England, Stojsavijevic turns 18 on Dec. 15 and boasts of two ITF (International Tennis Federation) titles besides winning the US Open girls singles crown in 2024 at age 15.
Records-wise, Eala, already a certified WTA 500 champion with her screaming win in the Washington Open at the expense of No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula, is by far miles ahead of Stojsavijevic.
So meteoric is Eala’s rise this early in her career that she earned the admiration of Mark Knowles, Pegula’s foremost coach, who unabashedly labelled Eala as an “incredible player.”
OK, Eala stumbled before she signed up for the Tokyo event, suffering stinging first-round losses in the Singapore Open and Wuhan Open in succession.
But she recovered somewhat with a blistering Round 1 win over France’s Diane Parry, 6-3, 6-1, in the Ningbo Open immediately following the Wuhan tournament.
It was a short-lived celebration though as Eala would lose her next match — to highly-rated Diana Shnaider of Russia.
The win did not come easy though for the sixth-seeded Shnaider, who had several anxious moments and been a recipient of lucky breaks numerous times before snatching a 7-5, 6-4 victory.
But for Eala, all that is water under the bridge now, so to speak. She is in high spirits as she plunged into action in Tokyo on Monday.
“I’m so excited to join the Pan Pacific Open,” Eala has said. “I heard that the crowd in Tokyo is amazing. I’m excited to learn that there’s a Filipino community there.”
From Tokyo, Eala, 21, flies to Hong Kong to cap her 2026 WTA season before appearing in an exhibition before her countrymen on Dec. 8 at the Philippine Arena.
Such hectic schedule for our lone Filipino female ace raking the tennis world by storm.