Who is Alexandra Eala’s first opponent at the Philippine Women’s Open? World No 160 Alina Charaeva
Alexandra Eala attracted much attention during her short Australian Open appearance, with crowds lining Melbourne Park to get a glimpse of the young superstar.
Ultimately, she fell 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 to Alycia Parks in the first round on her debut at the Grand Slam event.
Eala will next play the Philippine Women’s Open, which takes place from January 26 – 31, and will be seeded second after having received a wildcard.
Other players include top seed Tatjana Maria, Solanna Sierra, Donna Vekic, and Camila Osorio.
The event will be held at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in Manila, with 125 rankings points US$115,000 on offer for the winner.
So far in 2026, Eala has collected US$14,526 through her results at both ASB Classic and the Australian Open.
It will be the first time that a WTA event has been held in the Philippines, Eala’s home country.
World No 160 Alina Charaeva has been drawn as the teenager’s first-round opponent.
Who is Alina Charaeva?
Born in Samara, Russia in May 2002, Charaeva made her WTA Tour debut at the 2019 Kremlin Cup at just 17 years old – pairing up with Sofya Lansere in the doubles category.
On the ITF Women’s Circuit, the Russian has collected six singles titles and five doubles titles.
Her latest singles title came at the ITF clay event in Kursumlijska Banja, Serbia, in May 2025, defeating Teodora Kostovic 6-4, 7-6(5).
Additionally, Charaeva reached the final of the 2020 French Open’s girls’ final, losing out to Frenchwoman Elsa Jacquemot 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
She also made the showpiece match of the 2019 girls’ doubles final in Paris alongside Anastasia Tikhonova.
Despite not having reached the main draw for any Grand Slams above junior level, the Russian reached the third round of qualifying at the 2025 US Open.
Most recently, she fell to tenth seed Rebeka Masarova 6-3, 6-7(2), 7-6(5) in the first round of the Australian Open qualifying.
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Prize Money and Ranking
Charaeva reached a career-high singles ranking of world No 142 in September 2025.
In doubles, she rose to a career-high ranking of world No 203 in July 2025.
She has collected US$ 238,262 across her career, claiming more than 180 match victories overall.
The Draw
Should the Philippino get through Charaeva, Eala would then face either Nao Hibino or Himeno Sakatsume in the second round.
Seeds Sierra, Osorio, and Simona Waltert lurk in her half of the draw, with Vekic and Maria in the opposing section.
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