Seventeen-year-old tennis prodigy Alexandra Maniego Eala became the first Filipino to win a US Open juniors singles title via a 6-2, 6-4 victory over World No. 3 Lucie Havlickova of the Czech Republic on Sunday in New York City.
The Philippines finally has its first Grand Slam tennis champion, its closest chance at a championship coming way back in 1985, when Felix Barrientos made it to the semifinals of Wimbledon, losing to Eduardo Velez of Mexico.
“I said that it’s not just my win,” Eala said when the emcee at the awarding ceremony asked what she told the crowd in her native tongue. “It’s all of our wins. I said that, yeah. I did this not just for myself, I did it so I could help Philippine tennis.”
Help Philippine tennis and other non-basketball sports certainly needs, as our interest in tennis has been lackluster to say the least, quantified by the country dropping into unimaginable levels in Davis Cup play.
Eala’s own inspiring journey was made with minimal support from her own government, that in 2020 had a Philippine Sports Commission that was there only to take credit, falsely claiming having provided financial support after she made the semifinals in the 2020 Roland Garros girls singles tournament. Eala’s further training and development via a scholarship at the Rafael Nadal Academy in Spain was earned by her getting noticed for her talent and performance.
Her victory is another in a string of international triumphs by Filipino women such as Yuka Saso’s US Women’s Open golf win in June 2021, Hidilyn Diaz’ weightlifting gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, and the FIFA Women’s World Cup qualification of the Malditas this year.
“It’s very overwhelming right now,” Eala said when asked how it felt being the first one from the Philippines with a Grand Slam. “I think this is a huge step for me, personally. I’m super happy to represent my country and do something with a big platform, being able to inspire other younger people.”
By excelling on the international stage, Alex, Yuka, Hidilyn and the Malditas give budding Filipinos athletes, especially the women and those not playing basketball, sources of inspiration. Their struggles and victories show us how given the right breaks and proper support, the Filipino can aspire for greatness and not simply settle for mediocrity.*
