MANILA — Alex Eala continues to bring pride to the Philippines as she is set to make her Grand Slam main draw debut in late May.
After an awe-inspiring run in the WTA Miami Open in late March, the 19-year-old Filipina star will be competing in Roland Garros from May 25 to June 18 where she will once again face tennis’ best and brightest.
But just before the whole country rallies behind Eala anew, the freshly-ranked world’s No.73 player in the women’s side is also celebrating one of the fruits of her campaign in Florida — bringing the sport closer to the Filipino people.
“Tennis is a beautiful sport,” said Eala during an online press conference, Tuesday afternoon.
“I love tennis, but growing up, tennis was not basketball or volleyball. So to see that more Filipinos are picking up rackets is really such a sight for sore eyes,” she added.
Eala’s run in Miami indeed made Filipinos more drawn into the sport, as watch parties and other festivities were held during her semifinal match against then-world No. 4 — and now world No. 3 — Jessica Pegula of the United States.
But while the 5-foot-9, Quezon City native acknowledges this, she downplays being described as the trailblazer of tennis in the country.
“I really like to think that I have an impact, and lalo na ngayon, the win that I did in Miami, it’s getting more people to love the sport,” she said.
“But I never thought about it like that. It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact na ako yung trailblazer because I’ve always been the type to keep my head down and work.”
“Anyone who wants to take inspiration from me is welcome to do so, but that doesn’t mean that I am the only one who they can take inspiration from,” the teenager added.
