PSA names Yulo, Eala top athletes of 2025
Two of the country’s hottest sports properties will share center stage next month as Carlos Yulo and Alex Eala are set to be named Male and Female Athletes of the Year at the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Annual Awards Night.
The traditional sports gala, organized by the country’s oldest media organization in a major partnership with San Miguel Corporation, honors Filipino athletes who carried the national flag with distinction on the global stage in 2025.
From the chaos of Jakarta to the tropical courts of Miami and the bright lights of New York, Yulo and Eala left unmistakable imprints in their respective sports, reinforcing the belief that Filipino athletes can thrive at the highest level.
They top a long list of honorees in the affair, originally scheduled for Feb. 2 but moved to Feb. 16 due to unavoidable circumstances. The venue remains Diamond Hotel Manila.
It marks the first time in 22 years that the PSA has named male and female co-athletes of the Year, a feat last achieved in 2004 by boxing icon Manny Pacquiao and golfer Jennifer Rosales. Yulo also received the honor in 2024, while Eala is being recognized for the first time.
“Their exemplary performances on the international stage and more importantly, the way they have inspired countless young athletes to pursue greatness, are enough reasons to crown both Alex and Carlos as this year’s top performers,” said PSA president Francis Ochoa.
Fresh off his unprecedented double-gold performance at the Paris Olympics, Yulo showed no signs of slowing down. The 25-year-old went on to claim a fourth straight floor exercise gold at the Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships in South Korea, adding bronze medals in parallel bars, vault and individual all-around. He later returned to the world stage to win vault gold and floor exercise bronze at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Indonesia.
Eala, a proud product of the Rafa Nadal Academy, authored a breakthrough season that produced several firsts in Philippine tennis history, including cracking the WTA Top 50. Her rise began with a magical run at the Miami Open, where the then-world No. 140 stunned two former Grand Slam champions and world No. 2 Iga Swiatek.
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