A tennis racket and bag inspired by the Philippine flag, a tribute to the nation’s tennis trailblazers on the Grand Slam stage from Felicisimo Ampon to Alexandra Eala.

Their names may be little remembered today, but from Paris to New York, Filipino tennis players have been competing in the sport’s most iconic arenas long before Alexandra Eala’s historic win.

NEW YORK — In the 1950s, Felicisimo “Mighty Mite” Ampon and Raymundo Deyro carried the Philippine flag onto the clay courts of Roland Garros and the grass of Wimbledon. Barely five feet tall, Ampon battled giants of the sport and reached the quarterfinals in Paris, while Deyro matched his feats with deep runs of his own and a record-setting Davis Cup career. Together they made the Philippines one of Asia’s most respected tennis nations in an era when few from the region reached the game’s highest stages.

THE PIONEERS OF THE PRE-OPEN ERA

• Felicisimo “Mighty Mite” Ampon (1920–1997)
  Known for his fearless style despite standing only 4 feet 11 inches, Ampon won the Wimbledon Plate Championship in 1948 and the singles gold medal at the 1950 Pan American Games. He holds the Philippine record for most Davis Cup wins, competing for nearly three decades.
  • Grand Slams: French Championships quarterfinalist in 1952 and 1953.
  • Legacy: Passed away in 1997. Celebrated in the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame as one of the nation’s greatest athletes.

• Raymundo Deyro (1928–2019)
  A longtime teammate of Ampon, Deyro won two gold medals at the 1958 Asian Games and played in a national-record 37 Davis Cup ties. He was inducted into the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
  • Grand Slams: French Championships fourth round in 1953.
  • Legacy: Passed away in 2019. Remembered as one of the Philippines’ most enduring Davis Cup heroes.

THE MODERN ERA: FROM MANILA TO THE MAJORS

By the 1970s and 1980s, Filipinos began stepping onto the global stage during the Open Era.

• Beeyong “Virgilio” Sison (b. 1957)
  An Open Era pioneer, Sison was the first Filipino to play in all four Grand Slam main draws. His best performance came at the 1981 French Open, where he reached the doubles quarterfinals.
  • Current Status: Following his playing career, Sison coached in Switzerland for many years and founded a tennis school. He now serves as the Head Varsity Tennis Coach at Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, California, continuing his lifelong commitment to developing young players.

By the 1990s, Filipino-American players carried the torch further into the professional tour.

• Cecil Mamiit (b. 1976)
  An NCAA singles champion at USC in 1996, Mamiit reached the ATP final at San Jose in 1999 after defeating Andre Agassi and Michael Chang. Representing the Philippines, he later won bronze medals at the 2006 Asian Games in singles and doubles.
  • Grand Slams: Reached the second round at the Australian Open, French Open, and U.S. Open, becoming the first Filipino in the Open Era to win main-draw singles matches.
  • Current Status: Resides in California, where he runs the Tennis Mechanix Academy in Burbank and mentors young athletes.

• Eric Taino (b. 1975)
  A standout at UCLA, Taino won the 1999 Singapore Open doubles title with Max Mirnyi and later partnered with Mamiit for a doubles bronze at the 2006 Asian Games.
  • Grand Slams: Competed in U.S. Open singles main draws but did not advance past the first round.
  • Current Status: Based in Los Angeles, retired from the tour and active in coaching and community tennis.

• Treat Huey (b. 1985)
  Specializing in doubles, Huey captured eight ATP doubles titles and reached the semifinals of Wimbledon and the Australian Open in 2016. That same year, he qualified for the ATP Finals with Max Mirnyi, peaking at world No. 18 in doubles.
  • Current Status: Retired in 2023 and now serves as assistant coach for the University of Virginia men’s tennis team.

THE JUNIOR GRAND SLAM CHAMPIONS

Filipinos also made their mark in the junior ranks, proving that talent from the country could compete with the world’s best.

• Francis Casey Alcantara (b. 1992)
  The first Filipino to win a junior Grand Slam, Alcantara captured the 2009 Australian Open boys’ doubles crown with Hsieh Cheng-peng. He has been a long-time Davis Cup team member.
  • Current Status: Active on the professional circuit, competing in doubles on the ITF and Challenger tours while representing the Philippines in Davis Cup play.

• Felix Barrientos (b. 1967)
  A Wimbledon boys’ singles semifinalist in 1985, Barrientos later starred at Louisiana State University (LSU) and won Southeast Asian Games gold in 1991. He reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 180.
  • Current Status: Based in Singapore and now working in private banking.

NATIONAL PRIDE ON THE WORLD STAGE

For generations, Filipinos have represented their country not only on the professional circuit but also in international team events.

• The Davis Cup, founded in 1900, is tennis’s premier men’s team competition. Ampon and Deyro carried the Philippines in the 1950s, while Sison, Mamiit, Taino, Huey, and Alcantara added to the country’s legacy in later decades.
• The Billie Jean King Cup, originally launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 and renamed in 2020, is the women’s equivalent. Alexandra Eala made her debut for the Philippines in late 2024 during Asia/Oceania Group III, helping the team secure promotion to Division II and continuing a long tradition of national representation on the global stage.

EALA: A NEW ERA BEGINS

In 2025, Alexandra Eala added her name to this long history. Her comeback win at the U.S. Open made her the first Filipina, and only the second Filipino overall after Cecil Mamiit, to win a Grand Slam main-draw singles match in the Open Era.

Her success was built on earlier milestones. Eala had already won the 2022 U.S. Open girls’ singles crown, the first junior Grand Slam singles title for a Filipino, and claimed two junior doubles titles at the 2020 Australian Open and 2021 French Open.

Her fearless performance in New York marked a new chapter, not just for her but for Philippine tennis.

• Current Status: Active on the WTA Tour. Achieved a career-high singles ranking of No. 56 on June 30, 2025, and is currently ranked No. 75 as of August 2025. Widely recognized as the Philippines’ most prominent tennis player.

WHAT THE GRAND SLAMS AND THE ERAS MEAN

• Grand Slam: The Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open.
• Open Era (1968–present): When professionals and amateurs were allowed to compete together in Grand Slams.
• Pre-Open Era (before 1968): Amateurs only. Filipinos like Ampon and Deyro excelled in this system.

A LEGACY CONTINUED

From Ampon and Deyro’s early triumphs in Paris and Tokyo, to Sison’s Open Era breakthroughs, to Mamiit’s Slam victories in Melbourne and New York, to Huey’s Wimbledon semifinal and Alcantara’s junior Slam title, Filipinos have long left their mark on tennis’s grandest stages.

In 2025, Alexandra Eala carried that legacy forward with her U.S. Open win. She is the first Filipina to achieve this milestone, the latest in a line of pioneers carrying forward a legacy that spans nearly a century of Philippine tennis achievement.

OTHERS WHO CARRIED THE FLAG

While not all reached the Grand Slam stage, several Filipino players left their mark through national dominance, regional medals, and team competitions.

• Marissa Sanchez – National champion in the 1970s and one of the Philippines’ early international women’s competitors.
• Dyan Castillejo – Former Fed Cup player (1981–1990) and the first Filipina to earn a WTA world ranking. Later became one of the country’s most prominent sports broadcasters.
• Dianne Matias – Represented the Philippines in the 2008 Fed Cup, going undefeated in singles and doubles.
• Marisue Jacutin de Mariona – A Fed Cup veteran with 14 ties in the late 1990s and SEA Games appearances.
• Tin Patrimonio – Multi-sport athlete and SEA Games competitor who brought visibility to women’s tennis.
• Jeson Patrombon – Once ranked world No. 9 in juniors, he represented the Philippines in Davis Cup but did not advance to Grand Slam main draws.

Together, they form part of the wider story of Filipino tennis, carrying national colors in regional competitions, collegiate arenas, and international team events.

CARRYING THE TORCH

Other names also shaped the development of Philippine tennis through Davis Cup, Fed Cup, and administration:

• Randy Villanueva – Former Davis Cup player and later vice president of PHILTA, contributing to the sport’s governance.
• Rolando “Randy” del Rosario – Anchored the national Davis Cup squad in the 1970s and 1980s.
• Johnny Jose – Early postwar Davis Cup campaigner and contemporary of Felicisimo Ampon.
• Ruben Gonzales – Filipino-American doubles specialist who has represented the Philippines in Davis Cup and SEA Games.
• Denise Dy – Multiple SEA Games medalist and Fed Cup representative in the 2000s.
• Katharina Lehnert – Filipina-German player who represented the Philippines in Fed Cup during the 2010s, achieving a WTA career-high ranking inside the Top 400.

Though their names may not appear in Grand Slam record books, their contributions helped keep Philippine tennis alive, competitive, and visible on the regional and international stage.