Alex Eala: The tennis star of the Philippines is “so proud to represent my country” after having opened history to us

It seems that almost every time Alex Eala goes on the field, she writes a piece of tennis history for the Philippines.

Eala did her breakthrough as a joker at the Miami Open in March, where she beat three Grand Chelem champions en route to reach her first semi-final WTA Tour.

In doing so, she became the first Philippine to reach a WTA semi-final, the first to record a victory over a top 10 player and the first to enter the top 100 of the world.

Eala’s victories in the first three laps of the Miami Open were more than all the players of the Combined Philippines had succeeded in the tournament in the open era.

Now she’s again there.

Sunday, the 20-year-old woman fought the seeded n ° 14 Clara Tauson 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (11) in the first round of the US Open to record it-and the Philippines-for any first victory in the draw of a great home.

After retalling 1-5 in the final set, Eala fell to the ground and covered her face with disbelief while Tauson struck him on the match point.

“I am lucky to be the first to do this,” she told journalists after victory. “As I said, I am so proud to represent my country. It makes what I do bigger than me, and it adds meaning to what I do.”

There was a noisy crowd applauding Eala to the tribune arena as she returned to the decisive set.

Flushing Meadows, the park where the United States takes place, is close to the little Manila in Queens, where there is a large Philippine community – and they brought the noise.

The roar that went up to the stands when Eala obtained the match point was appropriate for Stade Arthur Ashe on the last weekend of the tournament.

“It’s so special,” she said about the support of her interview on the field. “They make me more and more special. Being Philippin is something that I am so proud of.

“I don’t have a tournament at home, so to be able to have this community here at the Open in the United States, I am so grateful that they have made me feel that I am at home.”

Eala began to train at Rafael Nadal Academy in Spain at the age of 13 and has long been one of the most exciting prospects for tennis, winning the duplicate titles at the Australian Open 2020 and the Open of France 2021.

In 2022, she became the first player of the Philippines to win a junior trophy of the Grand Chelem in simple when she won the title of simple US Open Girls.

This victory raped her in celebrity at home and led her to the cover of Vogue Philippines shortly after.

“It is difficult to think that you are the first to do it, you know, because it is the first time that I have crossed the trip,” said Eala when he was asked about the importance of his breakthrough for tennis in Southeast Asia.

“I am so happy to see the progress of tennis in Southeast Asia in general. I know that a daughter of Indonesia has also won her match today.

“I have known her for a long time, so I am happy for her. I am happy that the players in this region come and start to succeed. ”

This daughter of Indonesia is Janice Tjen, 23, who defeated the seeded n ° 25 VERONIKA KUDERMETOVA 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 Sunday to become the first Indonesian player to win a main Grand Slam match from Angelique Widjaja in Wimbledon in 2003.

Tjen will then face Emma Raducanu, whom she admired since the Briton amazed the tennis world by winning the US Open of 2021 as a 18 -year -old qualifier.

Tjen, who represented Pepperdine University in the United States and was a finalist in the Double of the 2024 NCAA, is now aimed at becoming the first Indonesian player to reach the third round of a Grand Chelem since Yayuk Basuki reached the Channel from 32 to Wimbledon in 2000.

“Janice is super nice, I have known her for a long time,” said Eala. “Having grown up in the same region, we found ourselves a lot in the same tournaments.

“I couldn’t spend a lot of time with her recently. I know she was at university and now she plays a pro and is doing very well.

“I’m so happy for her, and it’s nice to see someone you grew up with the world’s biggest stages.”

In another boost for Asian tennis, Coleman Wong, 21, became the first male player in Hong Kong to record a victory for a Grand Colem in the open era after having beaten Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (4) in the first round of the US Open.

Eala says that her up -to -date day has not changed much since she entered the stage in Miami, apart from more people recognizing her.

Her work ethics remained the same since she was a child, and she attributes the “big team” around her to keep her anchored and hungry.

Eala recently reached her first WTA Tour final at the Eastbourne Open in June, where she was beaten by Maya Joint.

“The simple fact of being in these tournaments, in these slams, every thousands, it motivates me so much more knowing that the same era last year, there is no way that I could have entered the main draw with my ranking,” she said.

And Eala’s message to Asian women who are now looking at her after a five -month whirlwind? “Everything is possible and dream of big.”