Alex Eala set for year-end clash with WTA No. 9 Mirra Andreeva in Macau Masters 

Alex Eala will close the curtain on a breakthrough 2025 with one more opportunity to measure herself against the game’s elite — and perhaps add another exclamation point to a year that reshaped her career.

The Filipina faces world No. 9 Mirra Andreeva of Russia on Sunday, December 28, at the MGM Macau Tennis Masters, a high-profile exhibition that doubles as a symbolic checkpoint before the 19-year-old turns her focus to the Australian Open in January.

For Eala, the matchup is less about rankings and more about trajectory. In a season where she announced herself on the global stage, she already proved she can stand toe-to-toe with the best, scoring stunning wins over world No. 2 Iga Swiatek and No. 7 Madison Keys during her unforgettable Miami Open run. Only Jessica Pegula, then ranked sixth, halted her surge.

Andreeva represents a familiar measuring stick. The two first crossed paths as juniors at the 2022 US Open girls’ quarterfinals, where Eala prevailed en route to a historic Grand Slam title. 

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Alex Eala is training in Macau with brother Miko, who is on break from work in Madrid Spain spending holidays with family.

She will be joining the MGM Macau Tennis Masters this weekend. pic.twitter.com/opdgX25zAm

— Dyan Castillejo (@DYANCASTILLEJO) December 26, 2025

Three years later, both players arrive in Macau vastly transformed — Eala as a top-50 regular and Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, Andreeva as one of the tour’s fastest-rising stars and a two-time WTA 1000 champion in 2025 after titles in Dubai and Indian Wells.

Their encounter comes under the team-format spotlight of the Macau Masters, where Eala competes for Team Li Na alongside Ugo Humbert and Jerry Shang, while Andreeva suits up for Team Conchita Martinez with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Wu Yibing. 

The rivalry begins early, with the two also set to clash in mixed doubles on Saturday.

Beyond the exhibition sheen, the stakes are quietly significant for Eala. A win over another top-10 opponent would further validate her rapid ascent as she prepares for her first Australian Open main draw appearance — a milestone she enters with growing belief rather than wide-eyed anticipation.

After SEA Games gold, a career-high ranking of No. 50, and a maiden Grand Slam main draw victory, Eala’s 2025 has already rewritten expectations. A strong finish in Macau would not change the story — but it could sharpen its ending.

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