Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and, most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.
— Brazilian legendary footballer Edson Arantes do Nascimento, or Pelé
More than rising to a new career-best at No. 28 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) live rankings, our tennis star Alexandra ‘Alex’ Eala has just secured the biggest career payday of her career at Wimbledon.
Eala advanced to the fourth round of the tournament after defeating Mexico’s Renata Zarazúa, 6-1, 6-2, in the opening round before rallying past Australia’s Maya Joint, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0, in the second round.
Following her massive upset victory over Polish defending champion Iga Świątek, Alex has been guaranteed £300,000 (approximately ₱23 million to ₱24.6 million), but that figure is set to increase because the prize money scales up as players progress through the tournament.
Thus, the 21-year-old’s earnings will continue to grow if she advances further in the draw.
On reaching the third round, Alex had already secured £185,000 (approximately ₱15 million, based on an exchange rate of ₱82 per pound). This is the largest prize money the Filipina tennis star has earned since turning professional, and it could increase even more as she moves forward in the tournament.
What’s even more rewarding for Alex is that this is separate from her earnings in the doubles event, where she and Czech partner Nikola Bartůňková were eliminated in the first round. First-round losers in the doubles draw received £18,000 (more than ₱1.4 million) per pair.
Going back to her latest victory, Alex earned praise from tennis legend Billie Jean King, who called the Quezon City lass an “inspiration.” Russia’s former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova also hailed Alex as “a star” for her impressive performance at Wimbledon.
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