Lea Salonga has spent decades giving some of Disney's best-known heroines their singing voices. On Friday, Hollywood finally put her own name in the pavement, with several performers who understood exactly how far that voice had traveled standing beside her.
Salonga received the 2,855th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 4, becoming the first Filipina to receive the honor. Her star was dedicated in the Live Performance category outside the Pantages Theatre, where Brandy, Ming-Na Wen and Darren Criss joined her for the ceremony, according to BroadwayWorld. H.E.R. was also among those in attendance.
Brandy connected Salonga's Broadway career to the millions who first knew her as the singing voice of Princess Jasmine in Aladdin and Mulan in Mulan. "There are singers who reach notes. Lea reaches hearts and souls," she told the crowd, later describing Salonga as someone who had "left the doorway open" for the artists who followed.
Salonga looked toward the next person instead. Recalling the little girl in the Philippines who simply loved to perform, she said she hopes a young Filipino child eventually finds her star in Hollywood and thinks, "Oh, maybe I can get here too."
Brandy's tribute centered on what Salonga's voice represented before many young viewers even knew the name of the performer behind it. Through Jasmine and Mulan, she said, Salonga gave children who had felt outside the fairy tale a way into it.

#salonga #voice #brandy

NEW YORK — Alex Eala has been filling tennis stadiums all over the world this past year, buoyed by more than 11 million overseas Filipinos. Packed crowds in Australia, Dubai, Toronto, and this week, New York, have felt "Eala Mania," decorating relatively docile tennis crowds with Philippine flags and "Laban Alex!" signs.
Eala is a complete anomaly for her country. No other Filipina had even made the top 250 before her, and she's already cracked the top 20 before the year's final major following her maiden WTA ***** le at the DC Open earlier this month. The 21-year-old even has current stars already labeling her the future of the sport.
Her unprecedented ascent has led Filipino fans to fly across the country to see her play. One group even planned their college reunion around her first appearance at the Cincinnati Open a few weeks ago.
But because of the nomadic nature of tennis, Eala is barely able to witness how she's impacting the other 117 million Filipinos in her home country.
"I think because I'm always traveling and I'm on tour, I'm quite out of touch sometimes with what my impact is back home, for the good and the bad. I think that's why I said a couple of times that when I went back home, it really opened my eyes," Eala said in response to a question from FOS at the Cincinnati Open.

#tennis #country #cincinnati

Filipina tennis star Alexandra Eala may be out of the National Bank Open, but she and the Filipino fans brought the best energy to this tournament which desperately needed it. She is currently enjoying well-deserved rest after busy weeks of tennis in DC and Toronto.
Eala will enter the Cincinnati Open potentially seeded as high as World No. 17 after her amazing summer run that included the WTA 500 win at the Mubadala DC Open a couple weeks ago.
In the meantime, her latest social media post exposes a less intense and lighter side to her personality. A familiar tennis face makes a cameo appearance.
MORE: 8 greatest US Open epics ever played: Reliving Flushing Meadows at full volume
Eala is enjoying ice cream when Coco Gauff appears in the video. It's no surprise that Eala and Gauff are friendly. They played doubles together last year at the Italian Open.

#enjoying #played #filipina

World number two Elena Rybakina survived a huge scare to battle into the Canadian Open quarter-finals on Sunday in Toronto, while fourth-ranked Coco Gauff cruised through.
Kazakhstan's Rybakina recovered from 0-3 and two breaks down in the final set to beat Liudmila Samsonova 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 before American Gauff swept aside another Russian, teenage qualifier Alina Korneeva, 6-3, 6-1 in Toronto.
Rybakina will face a quarter-final against four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, who eliminated home hero Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-4.
Gauff reached the last eight in Canada for the first time since 2023 and will come up against either Swiss 12th seed Belinda Bencic or Alexandra Eala, the rapidly rising 21-year-old Filipina who won her first WTA **** le last Monday in Washington.
"My main focus today was let me try and close it out," said Gauff, who has not dropped a set in Canada.

#gauff

As the umpire called the winning point, Alexandra Eala collapsed to the ground in tears - knowing her country had been with her for every step of the tournament.
She overcame weather delays, and the loss of the first set, to defeat world number three Jessica Pegula in the Washington Open final, becoming the first Filipina to win a WTA ****** le.
"To the Filipino community, here in DC and back home, wherever you are in the world. I really feel all the love."
Even Pegula was impressed by the turnout on Monday, for the continuation of Sunday's final.
"I can definitely confirm this is the best Monday final crowd I've seen," the American said. "I'm sure some people took off work. I won't tell them where you guys were."

#pegula

Alexandra Eala received a hero’s welcome upon returning home to the Philippines after her groundbreaking run at the 2026 Wimbledon Championships. Fresh off her stellar run, the Filipina also posed for a stunning spread for Metro Magazine, which drew admiring reactions from friends and fellow WTA stars Coco Gauff and Eva Lys.
Competing in the main draw of Wimbledon for only the second time in her career, Eala made history by becoming the first Filipino to reach the third round of a Grand Slam. The 21-year-old pulled off a major upset over No. 3 seed and defending champion Iga Świątek, securing a 7-6(9), 6-2 victory to book a spot in the fourth round.
Although the Filipina fell short against Jasmine Paolini in the Round of 16, she etched her name into her country’s sporting legacy. Upon her return to Manila, she was honored with a welcome dinner at Malacañan Palace hosted by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, where the 21-year-old was awarded a presidential citation.
During her homecoming, Eala also posed for a striking photoshoot at the Palacio de Memoria, posing against the venue’s breathtaking backdrop in a chic off-white ensemble.
The photoshoot quickly caught the attention of Coco Gauff and Eva Lys, who showered Eala with compliments in the comments section.

#wimbledon #filipina #welcome

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A distinguished American marine biologist has been shot dead by three men who entered his house in the central Philippines, police said on Tuesday.
Kent Carpenter, 73, was with his Filipina companion in a house in the coastal town of Sibulan, in Negros Oriental province, on Sunday night when the masked men forced their way in.
One drew a gun and shot Carpenter in the head, killing him instantly, police said his companion told them. The men took a laptop, an unspecified amount of cash and a backpack before fleeing, national police spokesperson Col. Allen Rae Co told reporters.
Regional police spokesperson Lt. Col. Joem Malong told The **** ociated Press that Carpenter's companion sustained unspecified injuries and was being treated. Investigators were trying to determine the motive for the killing and identify the attackers.
Carpenter was a marine biologist who had worked as a lecturer at the Silliman University, in Dumaguete city, Negros Oriental, Malong said.

Although Iga Świątek has had an underwhelming 2026 season, she would have hoped to turn things around at Wimbledon, returning to the All England Club one year after winning her maiden ****** le at the grass-court Major.
However, Alexandra Eala brought Świątek's campaign to an early end, with the Pole's frustration evident during the blockbuster contest.
No. 3 seed Świątek navigated a tricky challenge during her opening match at SW19, rallying to a 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 win over Taylor Townsend. She then appeared to hit her stride during her dominant 6-1, 6-3 triumph over former Wimbledon finalist Karolína Plíšková.
The six-time Grand Slam champion entered her highly anticipated third-round showdown with Eala with the advantage of experience, given that the Filipina had never reached the second week of a Major before.
However, Eala delivered a remarkable performance in their battle on Centre Court, saving two set points in the opening set and dominating the second to claim a 7-6(9), 6-2 victory, ousting the defending champion from the tournament.

Alexandra Eala dumps out Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek and is left shocked by her reaction originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
WIMBLEDON — Alexandra Eala pulled off the biggest win of her career to knock out defending Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek, reaching the fourth round of a grand slam for the first time in her career.
The Filipina recorded a shock 7-6 (11-9), 6-2 victory on Centre Court that saw her save two set points in the opener to become the first from her country to advance to the second week of a major.
While Swiatek was gracious in defeat, she admitted struggling against Eala's "slow" serve did cause her problems.
"I think it was tougher mentally for me to accept these missed returns from the slow serves. I got to say it's much tougher to return a serve like that than a normal serve," No.3 seed Swiatek said.