As the WTA Tour makes its stop at the Singapore Tennis Open, Vogue Singapore is catching up with three of the tournament’s brightest young stars—Alex Eala, Mirra Andreeva and Wang Xinyu—to learn more about life on the road, and dealing with its physical and mental demands.
All three are entering the Singapore Tennis Open at significant points in their careers. Eala arrives as one of the tour’s most closely watched young players with a career high ranking of No. 18 on the WTA Tour, the highest ever for a Southeast Asian player and the first Filipino to win a junior Grand Slam. Andreeva is the newly crowned Roland Garros champion and tournament top seed—the youngest Roland Garros women’s singles champion since Monica Seles. Wang is a familiar face on the Asian swing who reached last year’s Singapore doubles final, and previously made the last 16 at Wimbledon in 2024.
Away from tennis, it’s heartwarming to see all three girls make room for life beyond the court—Eala has been loving Adéla’s new album, Andreeva hasn’t stopped listening to Michael Jackson since Michael came out earlier this year, and Wang is a Swiftie at heart.
For Eala, who has found herself under increasing scrutiny as her profile has grown, maintaining a sense of normality is as important as any training session. “Well, in my life, it’s important to be able to just feel like myself,” muses Eala. “I definitely would attribute the majority of it to my upbringing and my family, their values.”
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“I’m still in that process of learning, but I have learned what specific boundaries that I have. For example, when people wait for me at my hotel, that’s a boundary that I don’t like crossed—though I understand it’s out of support and it comes from a good place—but that’s just the boundary that I have,” continues Eala. “Or when I’m sharing a meal with my friends, I want to be present in that moment. I guess there are moments that still need to be just mine.”
From maintaining a sense of normality amid the demands of the tour to their beauty holy grails, each player has her own way of staying grounded. Eala swears by sunblock and a long bath to decompress; Wang prioritises 10 to 12 hours of sleep and is loving the bubble tea at Yan Xi Tang while in Singapore; and Andreeva will sing to herself when the nerves kick in.
Ahead, the three players indulge in a little round of rapid fire on their match-day essentials, wellness rituals for a reset, and current hype songs on their playlist.
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Mirra Andreeva
If you’re getting ready for a match, what’s one beauty product that you always reach for?
If I’m getting ready for a match, I love to put on lip gloss or lip oil. Right now I’m using one from Fenty Beauty. It smells unbelievable. It also has some glitter, and it looks super nice, and it has become the one product that I use daily.
What song is guaranteed to get you in the zone before a match?
Before it was always Bon Jovi’s ‘Living On A Prayer’—just to pump me up. Now, I’m listening to Michael Jackson songs, especially after Michael came out. I like to listen to ‘Thriller’ before the match.
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Mirra Andreeva
Do you have a mantra that keeps you calm under pressure?
I actually sing songs. Whenever I feel tight or I feel like it’s an important moment and I feel like the nerves are getting to me, I just try to sing and block my mind. And, you know, it helps. So hopefully, if that happens here, it’ll help as well.
What’s your go-to way of staying fresh on and off the court?
I have seawater that I put on my face every time I practice.
What’s your ultimate post-match ritual?
I talk with my team, cool down, and shower. To get ready for the media and freshen up, I’ve been using this new foundation from Fenty Beauty. I’m a fan of Rihanna’s make-up. It gives me a lot of glow, and covers up my breakouts at the same time.
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Alex Eala
If you’re getting ready for a match, what’s one beauty product that you always reach for?
Good hair ties, hair pins, and hairspray. And sunscreen.
What song is guaranteed to get you in the zone before a match?
Oh, my gosh. Recently, I’ve been listening to ‘Nicole Kidman’ by Adéla. It’s a great album.
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Alex Eala
What is a wellness rule that you swear by when you’re travelling?
I swear by good skincare. Sunscreen, obviously, is a big one for me. I put that on religiously. Rituals, too, I love to take a nice bath with salts to decompress.
Making sure to fuel up too, for both my body and mind. Char siu is my number one food right now.
What have you learned this year?
When you win, it can feel like you’re so good and everything—and, you know, that’s not the reality. You’re not that good when you’re winning, and you’re not that bad when you’re losing. When you’re losing in the same sense, it can also feel like, “Oh, I’m so bad and I can’t do this and I can’t do that.” It can be overwhelming in both directions, and it’s important to have a balance.
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Wang Xinyu
What is a wellness rule that you swear by when you’re travelling?
Sleep is my number one rule. No matter how busy my schedule is, I always try to get 10 to 12 hours. I’m a good sleeper, but I have been using a weighted eye mask since last year.
What song is guaranteed to get you in the zone before a match?
Anything Taylor Swift. I’m a Swiftie—oh, it’s a tough decision, but right now it would be ‘Ready For It’.
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Wang Xinyu
What keeps you calm under pressure?
One point at a time. I say this all the time, whether I’m feeling a bit nervous on court, or thinking too much ahead, or even thinking too much about the past.
What’s your go-to way to stay fresh on and off the court?
Always an ice towel.
What’s your ultimate post-match ritual?
Stretching and good food. I like to get something sweet, whether an acai bowl or a bubble tea after the match. It’s for my body but also for my mind to recover. I had bubble tea last night at Yan Xi Tang, that was a really good one—you should go try it. I’m a huge foodie, so I’m really happy to be in Singapore this week—the food here is amazing, especially the bak kut teh and Hainanese chicken rice.
Catch the quarterfinals and finals of the Singapore Tennis Open this weekend from 25 to 27 September, here.
