The Philippine Tennis Association (PhilTA) has voiced out its full support for Filipina tennis star Alex Eala inspite of the heartbreaking string of early exits during the Filipina tennis star’s Asian swing.
Looking back at Eala’s recent performance slump, the country’s pride entered the Wuhan Open as the 13th seed and ranked World No. 19 but she suffered a first-round upset against China’s Han Shi, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6.
Her early exit in Wuhan follows other surprising losses, including a round-of-16 defeat to Russia’s Tatiana Prozorova at the Singapore Tennis Open and a setback at the Asian Games.However, PhilTA secretary-general John Rey Tiangco expressed deep pride in the achievements of the 21-year-old, reassuring her of the organization’s unwavering backing as she prepares for redemption.”We at Philta are immensely proud of Alex, grateful for everything she has done for Philippine tennis, and fully behind her as she continues to make history,” Tiangco asserted. Up next, Eala is set to bounce back and continue her campaign at the upcoming Ningbo Open and her fans has not wavered in their support: “It’s hard to… It’s hard to see a loss as a blessing in disguise . . . Many were surprised by her loss at Singapore . . .”
Back in August, Eala reached a career-best ranking of No. 18, following solid runs in the Wimbledon and United States Open as well as a breakthrough title in Washington to set multiple milestones for Philippine tennis.
However, for only the first time since her meteoric rise, Eala is in the doldrums since then, bowing in the World Tennis Association (WTA) 500 Singapore Open Round of 16 and in the WTA 1000 Wuhan Open first round even as she was the heavy favorite being the higher-ranked bet.
The back-to-back upsets were heartbreaking for Eala, who was 162 and 199 rungs above her underdog opponents.As the No. 1 seed in the 20th Asian Games in Japan without Asia’s top guns, Eala also fell short in maximizing her best shot at gold after a semifinal loss to No. 85 Xiyu Wang of China to settle for another bronze medal for the second straight edition.
Still, Eala is unfazed by the dry spell, looking at the bigger picture of continuing to represent the country in the biggest of stages, eyeing to get back in top form in the WTA 500 Ningbo Open from October 19 to 26.After this, Eala is also confirmed to debut in the WTA 500 Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan from October 26 to November 1 with hopes of finally regaining her confidence.”The most I can do, I feel at the moment, is to give back to my country and to my fellow Filipinos, is to just do my best and, you know, continue to work hard and try to inspire people and show them that this possible just through the things that I do,” she enthused after exiting Wuhan, the final 1000-level tour before the WTA Finals, where she also the missed the cut, from November 8 to 15 in Indian Wells.”And so what I’m going to try to do is take it match by match and try to, you know, focus one step at a time and try to bring out the best level that I can,” she added. In the meantime, PhilTA, which drew inspiration from Eala in staging a historic WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open this year and the WTA 250 upgrade next year, echoed the same sentiments.“Her rise to world No. 18, her WTA title and her victories over some of the world’s best players are milestones that have changed the landscape of Philippine tennis. We are equally grateful for her decision to represent our country at the Asian Games, putting the Philippine flag ahead of other opportunities,” Tiangco underscored.”
At this level of competition, victories and defeats are part of the journey. What matters is Alex’s determination to keep improving, her discipline, and her commitment to the sport. Alex has already won something bigger than any single tournament. She has inspired a nation and opened doors for the next generation of Filipino tennis players,” PhilTA’s top official concluded.
