In her latest update, Filipina pride Alexandra ‘Alex’ Eala says her focus is now to ‘prep for the United States Open’—the final Grand Slam of the tennis season—while also describing it as an ‘incredible experience’ to play doubles alongside American tennis legend Venus Williams.
The Rafa Nadal Academy graduate enjoyed a historic grass-court season, becoming the first player from the Philippines to reach the second week of a Grand Slam event, advancing to the fourth round after upsetting defending champion and world’s number 3 Iga Świątek.
Eala also reached the semi-finals of the Berlin Open, where she lost to eventual Wimbledon champion Linda Nosková of the Czech Republic.
Earlier in the grass-court swing, the country’s pride partnered with seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams at the Bad Homburg Open, with the pair reaching the quarter-finals before falling 6-3, 6-2 to the Slovak-British tandem of Tereza Mihalíková and Olivia Nicholls.
In a brief interview at the sidelines after the doubles match-up, Eala enthused: “It was an incredible experience for me.”
“Venus has such a special work ethic and such a special mindset. And for who she is, she is so down-to-earth. So I just took that . . . to absorb everything I could absorb and learn from her,” she added.
In the meantime, Eala’s online and in-person support continues to grow stronger and to prove this, she was recently voted the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA)’s ‘Star of Swing’ for the grass-court season, an award decided by a public vote.
The 21-year-old Quezon City lass received nearly 90 percent of the votes, finishing comfortably ahead of newly crowned Wimbledon champion Nosková.
The support Eala continues to earn from her home country is particularly significant, something she describes as something that continually uplifts those around her: “I would describe it as community.”
“I think we, as Filipinos, we are a community that uplifts each other. We are a community that is proud when someone else does well,” she highlighted.
“And so, we can take inspiration from other Filipinos because we have a shared love for our nation. We have a shared love for our culture. And I think that’s very beautiful.”
Taking a much needed break with a trip back home in Manila, Eala is next scheduled to compete at the Mubadala Citi DC Open from July 27 to August 2, before heading to the WTA 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati.
She will be using these two tournaments to gain valuable ranking points and build momentum ahead of the season’s final Grand Slam, the US Open, which runs from August 30 to September 13.