"Buong puso ko itong ipinaglaban hindi lang para sa sarili ko kundi para makatulong din ako sa kinabukasan ng Philippine tennis. So hindi lang ‘to panalo ko, panalo natin lahat.”
Tennis queen Alexandra “Alex” Eala makes history as she becomes the first Filipino to win a grand slam singles championship at the US Open Juniors on Saturday in New York City.
The 17-year-old no. 10 seed Eala beat no. 2 seed Czech Lucie Havlickova, 6-2, 6-4, becoming the only Filipino with two junior doubles grand slam titles.
This is her third major title, adding to her doubles championship titles in the 2021 French Open and the 2020 Australian Open.
On her journey to the finals, the Filipina teen beat Canadian Annabelle Xu in the first round, Slovakian Nina Vargova in the second round, Australian No. 8 seed Taylah Preston in the third round, Russian No. 14 seed Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals, and Canadian No. 9 seed Victoria Mboko in the semifinals.
Eala also became the highest-ranked Filipino on the Women's Tennis Association Tour last month at World No. 280, eclipsing Maricris Fernandez-Gentz’s World No. 284 rank in 1999.