“Alex, I’m so scared! That girl Eala… she’s fast like a demon.” Alex de Minaur surprised everyone by revealing that his girlfriend Katie Boulter whispered to him before stepping into her first round at the Hong Kong Open that she was “absolutely terrified” of the young, fiery Filipina:

The sacred bond of motherhood: Alexandra Eala's mother, Rosemarie, made a SPECIAL move when she drove the family's old truck hundreds of kilometers from Manila back to the community tennis court in Quezon City, where Eala's childhood began. "My daughter needs strength from the source. Whenever Eala feels tired, she remembers the sound of the ball echoing across that red clay court." And she brought Eala not only memories but also her first wooden racket, which she herself repainted. Even more surprising, her mother gave her a video of the familiar path leading to the old tennis court. Memories flooded back through her teary eyes, and soon after, Eala made a SPECIAL move at the tournament in Hong Kong—no team, no bodyguards. Just a navy blue hoodie and a low-slung baseball cap...