17-year-old Filipina tennis prodigy Alex Eala bags the first Junior Grand Slam title of the Philippines, becoming a three-time Grand Slam champion after the recently concluded US Open Girls’ Singles held in New York.
Alex Eala earned historic feat as the first Filipino to bring home a junior Grand Slam singles title as she displayed her dominance over World's No. 3 Lucie Havlickova of Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-4, in the finals of the US Open Girls’ singles in New York on Saturday, September 10 (Sunday, September 11, Manila time).
Despite sweeping all of her matches during the whole competition, the Filipina prodigy entered the finals as the 10th seed but managed to defeat the tournament’s second seed to bag the Grand Slam crown, adding to her previously earned two junior Grand Slam doubles crowns from the girls doubles championships in the 2020 Australian Open and the 2021 French Open.
“I think this is a huge step for me personally. I’m super happy to represent my country and do something of worth, with a big platform and being able to inspire other younger people,” Eala said.
Eala, 17, patterned her play from her idol Rafael Nadal and used him as an inspiration to overcome her struggles while playing.
“The biggest thing I notice in Rafa is how he fights till the end, how his thoughts are so clear,” she explained.
“He’s so calm, but at the same time so fired up. I think I really tried to channel that energy during this whole week,” she then added.
Hearing Eala ask permission to speak in her native tongue certainly speaks of the patriotism in her, whose parents have sacrificed a lot to allow her to play the game at the highest level possible.
In the awarding ceremony, the Filipina teen asked permission to speak in her native tongue as she held back tears while thanking the people who supported her throughout her journey.
“Unang-una gusto ko lang magpasalamat sa pamilya ko kasi kung hindi para sa kanila, hindi ko talaga kakayanin,” she said.
“Buong puso ko 'tong pinaglaban hindi lang para sa sarili ko kundi para makatulong din ako sa kinabukasan ng Philippine tennis. Hindi lang 'to panalo ko, panalo natin lahat,” she then added that fired up the Filipino fans in the audience.
Tags: #tennis, #USOpen, #Philippines