By Samantha Yu
MANILA — Alexandra “Alex” Eala of the Philippines is set to begin a new doubles partnership with Canadian talent Victoria Mboko at the 2026 French Open, aiming to make an impact against elite competition at Roland Garros.
The pairing comes after Eala’s previous stint with American Hailey Baptiste at the Italian Open, where the Filipina star fell short of advancing deeper in the draw.
Eala, 20, and Mboko, 19, are familiar opponents in singles competition. Eala secured a straight-set victory over Mboko in the 2022 US Open girls’ semifinals, a match that helped launch her historic junior Grand Slam triumph as the first Filipino champion at that level.
Since then, Mboko has made her own breakthrough in the professional ranks, climbing to world No. 9 and later defeating Eala in a three-set comeback win at the 2024 Hong Kong Open.
This time, however, the two young players will collaborate instead of compete, as they prepare to face some of the strongest doubles teams in the world, including top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend.
With relatively modest doubles rankings—Eala at No. 88 and Mboko at No. 133—the duo enters the French Open (May 24 to June 7) as underdogs, but with the potential to surprise in Paris on clay.
