MANILA — Tennis sensation Alex Eala headlines the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) monthly achievers for March, following her historic semifinal run at the prestigious WTA1000 Miami Open.
The 19-year-old wild card stunned the tennis world by defeating three elite opponents: 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, 2024 Australian Open winner Madison Keys, and world No. 2 Iga Swiatek. Although she fell to American Jessica Pegula in the semifinals, Eala made history as the first Filipina in the Open era to beat a Top 5 WTA player. She has since climbed to a career-high No. 73 in the world rankings.
Joining Eala on the PSA honor roll are:
Rubilen Amit (Billiards) – Captured back-to-back titles in Las Vegas: the Women’s Challenge of Champions and the Las Vegas Women’s Open.
Melvin Jerusalem (Boxing) – Retained his WBC minimumweight crown via unanimous decision over Yudai Shigeoka in Japan.
Aidric Chan (Golf) – Clinched the Lexus Challenge title on the Asian Development Tour in Vietnam with a final-round 67.
TNT Tropang Giga (Basketball) – Took down Barangay Ginebra in a thrilling OT Game 7 to win the Commissioner’s Cup. Rey Nambatac was named Finals MVP.
ia/mnm
