Eala dazzles in Laureus Awards

MANILA, Philippines — From the tennis court to the red carpet.

Clad in a beige Filipiniana dress, Alex Eala dazzled as guest in the distinguished 2026 Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid days before strutting her stuff in the Mutua Madrid Open.

Eala graced the red carpet of what is considered as the “Oscars of Sports” where Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka were crowned as Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year, respectively.

Legendary players Novak Djokovic of Serbia (tennis) and Eileen Gu of China (freestyle skiing) hosted the momentous occasion featuring the world’s best athletes today.

And Eala took the most of the golden moment with a rare selfie with the sporting greats at the historic Palacio de Cibeles in Madrid.

“Sandwiched between greatness,” beamed Eala on her photo with 22-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic and three-time Olympic gold medalist Gu.

Eala, a graduate of the Rafael Nadal Academy also in Spain, wore an iconic Filipino dress designed by her uncle, Rhett Eala, who’s a renowned fashion designer abroad.

Her appearance in the world’s most prestigious awarding ceremony is a relax time before an expected killer stretch starting with the WTA1000 Madrid Open that runs today until May 3.

Eala, who slightly improved to No. 44 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings, will go up against a qualifier at a still-to-be-determined schedule.

After Madrid, Eala is also listed in the WTA1000 Rome Open and the WTA125 Parma Ladies Open both in Italy for the continuation of her clay campaign.

Eala started her clay season with second-round and first-round stints in the Upper Austria Ladies Linz Open in Austria and the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, respectively.

All of these serve as Eala’s build-up for the French Open on May 24 to July 7 in Paris.

The Roland Garros will be Eala’s second Grand Slam this season after debuting in the main draw of the Australian Open.