MANILA, Philippines — Both history makers and firsts of their kind, two-time Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo and Filipina tennis sensation Alex Eala will be honored as the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Male and Female Athletes of the Year at the PSA Annual Awards Night on February 16.
After making waves on the international stage, the two stars will share the top honor—marking the first time in 22 years that the PSA has named co-Athletes of the Year since boxing legend Manny Pacquiao and golfer Jennifer Rosales in 2004.
The 25-year-old Yulo receives the Athlete of the Year award for the second consecutive year, while Eala earns the prestigious honor for the first time.
After Yulo’s historic double in the 2024 Paris Olympics, the gymnast flaunted his form once more in the 2025 Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships in South Korea as he bagged his fourth straight gold medal in the floor exercise, and racked bronze medals in the parallel bars, vault, and individual all-around events.
The Manila-born gymnast made a comeback in the 53rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Indonesia, and bested his foes after a gold finish in the vault, and added a bronze medal in the floor exercise.
Meanwhile, Eala’s rise to tennis is unstoppable as she cracked into the Top 50 of the WTA world rankings, placing No. 49 after beating Donna Vekic in the 2026 ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, this January.
Eala made an exemplary run at the Miami Open, where she entered the WTA 1000 event as a wild card ranked No. 140.