The agency began laying the commercial groundwork after Eala’s 2022 U.S. Open junior singles title. Four years later, the world No. 18 is drawing attention from fashion and expanding her reach across major consumer industries.
NEW YORK — Five days after Alex Eala’s U.S. Open campaign ended, the Filipino tennis star appeared in another high-profile New York setting, this time without a racquet.
Eala made her New York Fashion Week debut Sept. 10 in the front row at Tory Burch, followed by appearances at Michael Kors and Calvin Klein. She shared space with prominent figures from fashion and entertainment, including Anna Wintour, and was featured by Vogue during the week.
The appearances showed how quickly Eala’s profile is extending beyond tennis. At 21, she is represented by IMG Tennis, a division of WME, within a larger organization whose businesses span sports, entertainment, talent representation and licensing.
The groundwork came first
IMG began developing Eala’s commercial business years before she entered the top 20.
Forbes reported that Max Eisenbud’s IMG group began laying the foundation after Eala won the 2022 U.S. Open girls’ singles championship, becoming the first Filipino to win a junior Grand Slam singles title.
IMG agent Carter Lin later traveled to the Philippines to meet companies and promote longer-term partnerships built around tennis’ international calendar rather than campaigns tied to individual tournaments.
Eala’s 2025 Miami Open breakthrough sharply raised her international profile. She defeated reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys, advanced when Paula Badosa withdrew before their scheduled match, then beat Iga Swiatek before losing to Jessica Pegula in the semifinals.
Her rise accelerated in 2026. Eala won her first WTA Tour singles title in Washington, defeating Pegula in the final and becoming the first Filipino to capture a WTA Tour-level singles championship. She later climbed to a career-high No. 18.
The IMG playbook
IMG’s history in athlete marketing stretches to Mark McCormack’s representation of golfer Arnold Palmer beginning in 1960, a relationship that helped shape the modern business of building commercial careers around elite athletes.
Eisenbud leads IMG Tennis while serving as head of client representation for WME Sports. His career has included work with Maria Sharapova and Li Na, while IMG Tennis has represented leading players including Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek.
At that level, representation extends well beyond finding sponsors. Agents negotiate commercial rights, manage competing brand categories and schedule promotional work around training, recovery and tournaments.
Forbes reported that Eala’s representatives have concentrated much of her commercial work into designated periods, including trips to the Philippines, limiting disruptions to tournament preparation.
Building the business
Forbes estimated in August that Eala generated more than $5 million in off-court earnings over the previous 12 months, before taxes and agent and management fees.
Longstanding Philippine relationships form part of that foundation. Globe says Eala has been its ambassador since she was eight. Forbes reported that Globe and Bank of the Philippine Islands renewed four-year agreements with her in early 2026.
Her portfolio has broadened further. Panasonic Philippines named Eala an ambassador in August, while Marriott Bonvoy partnered with her for its “Tennis The World” campaign across Asia-Pacific excluding China, linking her with travel and tennis experiences tied to the Australian Open.
The mix of telecommunications, banking, consumer electronics and travel shows how her appeal is moving beyond companies directly associated with tennis.
Fashion widens the audience
Fashion has become another outlet for that visibility.
Vogue profiled Eala during the U.S. Open and later included her among breakout sports figures expected to attract fashion-industry attention. Her appearances at Tory Burch, Michael Kors and Calvin Klein followed within days.
Wintour had already taken notice of Eala during the U.S. Open, where the Vogue editor discussed the growing relationship between athletes and fashion.
The significance lies less in any single show than in the audience surrounding it. Fashion Week places Eala before designers, editors, advertisers and international consumer brands as athletes increasingly move between sports and popular culture.
Eala also brings a distinctive geographic dimension to that appeal. She commands a strong following in the Philippines while competing year-round on an international tour, giving brands access to an established home audience and growing recognition abroad.
The value of the name
Eisenbud believes Eala’s commercial future could eventually extend beyond traditional endorsements.
He told Forbes that she could develop a significant licensing business, with products associated with her name or image generating royalties. He also predicted that Eala could become the world’s second-highest-paid female athlete in 2027, behind Coco Gauff.
The forecast reflects Eisenbud’s assessment of his client’s potential rather than an independent earnings projection.
Eala’s expanding business remains closely tied to the tennis career that created the demand. Every appearance or campaign must compete with training, recovery and tournament preparation.
