Alex
Eala in 2026
<1> ASB Classic (WTA Auckland Open)
- earned 98 WTA ranking points;
$12,331. + Women's Double
<2> 2026 Australian Open - earn 10
points; AUD 150,000 (~P5.9M, ~$100,760)
+ about $29,556 USD for her first-round
doubles exit.
<3> Philippine
Women's Open
(WTA 125) - 27
WTA ranking
points;
$3,450 (around P200,000) Current
Singles Rank: 45
<4> 2026 Abu Dhabi Open (WTA 500) - 108
ranking points; $35,000
It represents a landmark moment in the short
career of this young talent, who has qualified
for a Masters 1000 event based purely on her
ranking for the first time in her career.
The Qatar Open has actually chosen Eala to
play her first-round match on Centre Court,
relegating stars like Emma Navarro and former
Grand Slam champions Emma Raducanu and Jelena
Ostapenko to the outside courts. This is at
the first Masters 1000 event of the year, no
less. Current
Singles Rank:
40 Eala,
ranked just 40th in the world, will take on
Valentová at Qatar Open, who sits at an even
lower 44th.
It has taken some time, given her popularity
was evident all throughout 2025, but at last,
organisers finally seem aware of the pull of
this Filipina sensation.
Facing Alycia Parks in the first round, seats
were instantly filled, and hundreds more
queued up outside the grounds just for a
glimpse of the 20-year-old.
It was not a good look for the first Grand
Slam of the year, and clearly sent shockwaves
throughout the tennis organising community.
The Qatar Open were keen not to repeat the
same mistake. src
This Qatar Open decision vindicates that,
particularly after the Australian Open made a
huge mistake with Eala, scheduling her to play
on Court Six, one of the event’s smaller
playing areas.
<5> Qatar Open (WTA 1000) - 10 ranking
point; $18,300. The Filipina moved up
five places to a new career-high of world No
40 in this week’s WTA Rankings, though is
already guaranteed to drop places in next
week’s update.
Alexandra Eala has proved she’s undoubtedly the most popular star in
tennis during the first months of the 2026 season. Eala nearly shut down the Australian Openfor
her first round match with Alycia Parks, which saw lengthy queues outside
during the match.
The star’s popularity has continued to surge at thePhilippine Women’s Openand
theAbu
Dhabi Open, where thousands of young fans have attended her matches. Ahead of her appearance at theQatar Open, Olympic gold medalist
Monica Puig has shared her admiration forEala.
<6> Dubai Duty Free Tennis
Championships (WTA 1000) -
[2/18/2026] Eala reached a new career-high
ranking of world No. 38 in the WTA live
rankings as of February 18, 2026. She
achieved this milestone by defeating world
No. 8 Jasmine Paolini in the second round of
the Dubai Tennis Championships, marking her
ascent from No. 47.
Hsieh
Su-wei 謝淑薇 is the highest-ranking Taiwanese tennis player in history,
reaching World No. 1 in doubles (first achieved May 12, 2014) and No. 23
in singles (February 25, 2013). She has won seven Grand Slam doubles
titles and is the only Taiwanese player to hold the top ranking in either
singles or doubles.
Tanasugarn's career-high WTA ranking is No. 19, achieved on 13 May 2002,
which is the highest ranking ever achieved by a Thai female player.
2025全球最繁忙國際機場 TOP 10 (only for international
traffic)
排名 機場（國家/地
區）
座位數（萬個）*No. of seats is the total seats including
domestic too.
1 杜拜國際機場（阿聯酋杜拜）
6240
2
希斯路機場（英國倫敦）
4900
3
仁川國際機場（南韓首爾） 4300
4 樟宜機場（新加
坡）
4260
5 阿姆斯特丹史基浦機場（荷蘭） 4130
6
伊斯坦布爾機場（土耳其）
4120
7
戴高樂機場（法國巴黎）
3960
8 香港國際機場
3870
9 法蘭克福國際機場 (German) 3640
10 多哈國際機場 (Qatar)
3270
來源網址 : 2025年全球最繁忙國際機場-香港排第8-同比增長12 | 星島頭條 https://www.stheadline.com/realtime-world/3536206/
My Note:
<1> No American airport is in the Top 10 of 2025 for
international traffic.
<2> No China. No Japan.
<3> Regional group: Middle East (2).
Asia (3). Europe, including Turkey (5).
From
AI: 亞特蘭大哈茲菲爾德-傑克遜國際機場（ATL）
是全球最繁忙的機場之一，在總旅客量和國內航班運營方面長期位居榜首。
根據 2024 年和 2025
年的數據，亞特蘭大機場憑藉其龐大的國內市場和樞紐地位，持續提供全球最多的航班座位和旅客量。
WHAT WERE THE BUSIEST AIRPORTS OF 2025 (International
+ Domestic)?
The
busiest airports are concentrated largely in North
America and Asia
From AI:
Middle Eastern airports and airlines have experienced
explosive growth in the past 20 years, transforming the
region into a major global aviation hub, driven by massive
infrastructure investments, strategic location, and the
rise of powerful carriers like Emirates and Qatar Airways,
with Dubai becoming the world's busiest international
airport for traffic. This boom saw local airlines double,
capacity soar (>>9% annual growth by ASKs), and new
mega-airports like Doha's Hamad (HIA) and Dubai's Al
Maktoum (DWC) expand dramatically to handle increasing
long-haul traffic connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa.
Dubai International Airport (DXB): Took 51 years to reach
500 million passengers, but only 7 more years to serve
another 500 million, becoming the world's busiest for international traffic
by 2014.
<1> Although Greece have captured over 100 medals in 15 different
sports in the Summer Olympics, the Mediterranean country is still seeking
its first-ever medal at the Winter Games.
<2> Bangladesh, with 173 million people, is the most populous country
never to win an Olympic medal.
<3> Hong Kong did not win a medal at the 2025 Asian Winter Games in
Harbin, finishing without any podium positions. Despite this, the delegation
saw historic performances, including a 4th-place finish in men's curling, a
30-0 ice hockey victory over India, and reaching the quarterfinals in men's
ice hockey for the first time.
<4> In a highly lopsided February 2025 ice hockey match at the Asia
Winter Games, Hong Kong defeated India 30-0 because they significantly
outmatched the Indian team in experience and skill, firing 85 shots on goal
while limiting India to just one shot.
<5a> Asian Games 2023: Hong Kong have more medals than India, women
(single) reach squash final (end up 2nd place), while the men (single) won
bronze after losing their semi-final (so it is 4th place).
<5b> Women's Team Squash
Gold: Malaysia (Sivasangari
Subramaniam, Aifa Azman, Rachel Arnold)
Silver: Hong Kong
Bronze: India & Japan
So women's team squash also
in 2nd place.
<6> [2/16/2026] At #MilanoCortina2026, the 22-year-old added two
silver medals in freestyle skiing, bringing her total to five Olympic medals
and becoming the most decorated female freeskier of all time.
She may get one more later in this Winter Olympic.
Question: She broke the record for most medals by a female freestyle
skier? Or, matching the record for the most Olympic medals in
freestyle skiing? Both Yes. Breaking record among female;
matching Canadian Mikael Kingsbury's record for the most Olympic medals in
freestyle skiing (among all skiers no matter female and male).
<7> She is the first freestyle skier to win three medals at a single
Winter Olympics. Gu repeated as silver medalist both in slopestyle and
in big air at the 2026 Winter Olympics, bringing her Olympic medal tally to
five out of five events in which she competed. 2/21/2026 Sat with Ivy & Terri
Jones Beach West End and Coney Island Beach
Jones: Common Eider, M+F. Black Scoter. Long-tailed Duck,
a lot. Sanderling. Dunlin, 5000+. Purple Sandpiper.
Northern Harrier.
Coney: Greater Scaup, Black Scoter (quite a lot, a birder's estimate -
150+), Surf Scoter, Common Loon, Horned Grebe. 2/14/2026 Sat World's Fair Marina
Ice is all over the water at the coast.
From AI:
Extensive ice coverage is impacting marinas and waterways across the NYC and
Jersey Shore area as of mid-February 2026, following a deep freeze.
The thick, floating ice has caused significant, dangerous conditions,
suspending ferry services, forcing the U.S. Coast Guard to conduct
ice-breaking operations, and threatening marina infrastructure with damage
from ice buildup on docks and pilings. Reported on
2/1/2026 Sunday:
New York City is poised to endure its longest deep freeze
in 65 years if the frigid forecasts hold through next
weekend, according to experts.
The Big Apple is expected to have shivered at 32 degrees
or below for 15 days straight by the time the cold is
likely to break next Saturday, Feb. 7 – the longest
extreme cold snap the Big Apple has seen in well over half
a century, AccuWeather meteorologists told The Post on
Sunday.
2/2/2026 Mon 5:30am
First time to see Regulus 轩辕十四（α
Leo /狮子座α）. It is next to the Moon (in full moon -
99.6%).
A lunar occultation of the star Regulus is occurring on
Monday night, Feb. 2, 2026, where the Moon passes in front
of the "Heart of the Lion" in the Leo constellation. For
locations like New York, the star disappears around 8:51
p.m. and reappears around 9:54 p.m. EST, visible with the
naked eye or binoculars.
位于狮子座心脏位置的蓝白色恒星轩辕十四，是夜空中最明亮的恒星之一。
2026
年2月3日：轩辕十四伴月；月掩轩辕十四
掩星开始：01:43 GMT（北京时间09:43）= EST:
February 2, 20:43 (8:43 PM)
轩辕十四是最靠近黄道的一颗亮星，因此不仅经常会被月球掩蔽，偶尔还会很罕见的被水星、金星和小行星掩蔽。轩辕十四上一次被行星掩蔽是在1959年7月7日，下一次将在
2044年10月1日，而且这两次都是被金星掩蔽。由于轨道交点的位置，在未来的数千年内都不会被其它的行星掩蔽。
2/1/2026 Sun - events coming:
- 2/2 Mon - Alex Eala first match at 2026 Abu Dhabi Open
- 2/6 Fri Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony
- China: featuring stars
like Eileen Gu 谷爱凌 (freestyle skiing), Su Yiming
(snowboarding), and pairs figure skaters Sui Wenjing and
Han Cong.
- Biathlon: On the women's
side, the retirements of Marte Olsbu Røiseland (five
medals at Beijing 2022, including three golds) and Denise
Herrmann (15km gold medallist at Beijing 2022) mean we
could see new Olympic champions crowned in the sprint,
pursuit, and individual events.
- 2/8 Sun Super Bowl [January
22, 2026 Thu]
New York City is gearing up for a significant snowstorm
this weekend. A Winter Storm Watch is in effect.
If, as some forecasts project, the city gets more than a
foot of snow, it will be the first time the city has seen
that much since February of 2021.
[January
25, 2026 Sun]
The monster winter storm impacting the United States in
late January 2026 is named Winter Storm Fern. This
significant system, developing around January 23-26, 2026,
stretches from the Southern Rockies to New England,
bringing heavy snow, ice, and dangerously cold
temperatures.
A foot or more of snow could blanket the NYC area today
into Monday, as much of the U.S. faces a crippling winter
storm. Parts of the tri-state area, like Poughkeepsie,
could see 18+ inches.
Snowfall rates could reach 2 inches an hour at times.
Travel may be nearly impossible, with near-blizzard
conditions expected at times, minus the wind. 1/10/2025 (Sat) 7:30-8:30am
World's Fair Marina (more than 2 years not visited)
Best route to see as many as ducks in one day:
Willow Lake - Common Merganser
World's Fair Marina [via GCP] - Canvasback. Ruddy
Duck. Bufflehead. Scaup. Kissena
Park - Wood Duck Baisley
Pond Park - Redhead. Ring-necked
Duck. American Wigeon.
Gadwall. Muscovy Duck.
If no Redhead, then Alley Pond Park Restoration Pond Point Lookout & Nickerson Beach - Harlequin
Duck. Common Eider. Long-tailed
Duck. Scoter.
Jones Beach
- Red-breasted Merganser. Common
Eider. Long-tailed
Duck. Scoter.
Cammanns Pond County Park (optional)
- Hooded Merganser
Breezy Point - Common Eider. Long-tailed
Duck. Scoter. Dead
Horse Bay (optional) - Red-breasted Merganser Shirley
Chisholm SP - Marine
Park Salt Marsh
Nature Trail -
Target: 20+
Where to find:
Eurasian Wigeon -
Northern Pintail - visit Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
(Queens), Central Park Reservoir, Alley Pond Park
(Oakland Lake), or Prospect Park (Brooklyn). And
Inwood Hill Park, Shirley Chisholm SP (Brooklyn),
Marine Park Salt Marsh Nature Trail (Brooklyn), etc.
Green-winged Teal - Shirley
Chisholm SP (Brooklyn) Muscovy
Duck - Common
Goldeneye -
Note: <1> Ducks are incredibly fast in level flight, especially for
sustained migration, often faster than many hawks' normal flight. However,
hawks, particularly falcons, achieve significantly higher burst speeds
during dives, far surpassing any duck's capabilities.
Duck
Flight Speeds:
Fastest
Ducks:Diving ducks like the Red-breasted
Merganser andCanvasbackcan
reach 70-80 mph (over 100 km/h) in level flight, with some reports up
to 81 mph (130 km/h).
Typical
Ducks:Many ducks average 40-60 mph
during migration, with mallards hitting 50 mph or more.
Reason
for Speed:Strong chest muscles help some
ducks power through water and air quickly.
<2>
Birds
with strong chest muscles includehummingbirds,birds
of prey (falcons, eagles, owls),pigeons,
andpheasants/grouse,
all adapted for powerful flight or quick escapes, with hummingbirds having
massive pectoral muscles for hovering, raptors for powerful dives, and
ground birds for explosive take-offs, featuring largepectoralis(downstroke)
andsupracoracoideus(upstroke)
muscles attached to a prominentkeeled
sternum.
Examples
& Adaptations:
Hummingbirds:Have
pectoral muscles making up a huge percentage of their body mass
(around 30%) for hovering flight, requiring rigid bones for support.
Birds
of Prey (Raptors):Falcons, eagles (like
the Harpy Eagle), and owls possess large, powerful chest muscles for
swift dives and carrying heavy prey.
Pigeons
& Doves:Have significant pectoralis
muscles for powerful downstrokes, propelling them forward, making up
20-32% of their body weight.
Pheasants
& Grouse (松雞):Feature powerful
"white meat" breast muscles for explosive, near-vertical take-offs to
escape predators.
1/9/2025 (Fri) 7:30-8:30am
Willow Lake
Common Merganser, many M and F. Hooded
Merganser. Bufflehead. etc.
Rusty Blackbird. Carolina Wren.
Cardinal. Robin.
