Alexandra Eala: Remember her Name

As Alexandra Eala headed to exit of Wimbledon’s Centre Court after a heartbreaking setback to defending champion Barbora Krejcikova, the applause around her carried a tinge of disappointment for those who had hoped for a fairytale upset.

Yet, as the broadcast cameras zoomed in on Eala, a figure of grace even in defeat, a seasoned female broadcast commentator said with certainty — “Remember her name, because she’s not going anywhere. She’s here to stay.”

Indeed, she is.

Eala’s Wimbledon game, a historic first for any Filipina in the Open era, may have ended in defeat to the 29-year-old Czech champ, who bounced back from a first-set loss to score a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the women’s singles.

But it will be an unforgettable experience for the 20-year-old Eala, who with her grit, skills, and charisma, introduced herself before a worldwide audience.

“This match is my dream match, my dream debut,” said Eala in a postgame interview that was posted online.

Eala, who had big wins early this year as she became the first Filipina to reach a World Tennis Association (WTA) 1000 semifinal at the Miami Open in March and a first finals’ appearance at the Eastbourne Open last week, is still not through with her Wimbledon journey as she teams up with German partner Eva Lys in a clash against American Quinn Gleason and Brazilian Ingrid Martins in Round 1.

With the singles’ loss Eala, picked up a purse of 66,000 British pounds, which is around more the P5.096 million, to go with 10 WTA points.

But more than the purse, Eala gained something more important than any prize money ever could give – respect from the tennis world.

“I would like to start with giving the credit to Alex. I mean, what the hell she played in the first set. She was smashing the ball and she was cleaning the lines and all that, so, wow,” said Krejcikova after her win.

“Wow, it’s a next generation coming. She’s going to come up and she’s going to be really good in a couple of years. So, first of all, big credit, big credit to her,” she added.

Click here to read article