After the Queen died, a new princess was born. She did not come to rule a royal court but the tennis court. She is Princess Alexandra I but more popularly known as Princess Alex. Alex is the first tennis royalty from the Philippines who ruled the recent US Junior Open after defeating Lucie Havlickova of the Czech Republic in two straight sets, 6-2 and 6-4. Alex was the first Filipino to win a Grand Slam singles title in tennis. And she did it at the US Open, one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world. In clinching the title, she had won over highly rated players on her way to the championship. She bested 8th seeded player, Taylah Preston from Australia, 14th seed Mirra Andreva of Russia in the quarterfinals, and 9th seed Victoria Mokpo of Canada in the semis. Havlickova was the 2nd top ranked player in the tournament and she is currently the World No. 3 in the junior ranking.
Alex is only 17 years old and her parents are both commoner, Michael Eala, a successful businessman, and Rosemarie “Rizza” Maniego-Eala, a former national swimmer who bagged a bronze medal in the Southeast Asian Games and now the Chief Financial Officer of Globe Telecom. Her elder brother, Miko, also plays tennis at Penn State in the US. At 5’9”, Alex has the build, strength, stamina and the right mental attitude to compete and survive in the fierce and grueling sport of tennis. In tennis, a player is always constantly in motion, running in every direction and angle to hit the ball into the opponent’s court. But Alex came prepared. Throughout the US Open tournament where she played six matches, she did not drop a set and she was proud of her performance. “I would say I’m very happy with the way I handled each and every point. I had a lot of moments in this tournament where I was down. I could have lost, could have lost a set, and could have gotten mad easily, but I didn’t. I think my behavior throughout the whole week is something I’m very proud of.” We saw that Alex and we are all proud of you.
Her immediate focus now is to return to the professional women circuit where she has yet to score a major win. She had, however, scored two professional championships: the first in Manacor, Spain last year and another in Chiang Rai, Thailand early this year. She was a losing finalist at the ITF professional tournament in Madrid in July. A remarkable finish, if not a championship, in a Grand Slam tournament will drive the entire country crazy. We don’t lose sight of the fact that many previous winners of the US Open girls’ championships like Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport and others had become legends in their game after graduating from the girls’ tournament.
While Alex shall be concentrating in the women’s game, she, however, has not ruled out playing in the juniors rank whenever the schedule permits while she’s still young and eligible.
She is currently No. 288 in the last World Tennis Association (WTA) ranking although this may improve following her recent US Open victory. Alex’s highest rank was at 280, which she achieved in August after scoring a couple of victories. Her other notable wins were in the 2020 Australian Open and in last year’s French Open where she won the doubles championship in the junior division with different partners. She keeps on winning the doubles competition despite her lack of a permanent partner. And her partners had come from different countries. This only shows her versatility, mental toughness and mastery of the game as a doubles player.
Aside from joining more professional women’s tour, what she is dying to do next is to represent the Philippines in the next SEA Games, Asian Games and possibly the World Olympics. In her first stint at the 31st Southeast Asian Games edition in Vietnam, she failed to bring home a gold medal but she won 3 bronze medals. Her recent success in major WTA tournaments and at the US Open should send a warning to her rivals in the region that they would be facing a different Alex during their next encounter.
It gives her a distinct honor to wear the Philippine colors in international sports meets. In an earlier interview she said: “It is also another opportunity for me to represent the Philippines, something I love, and I definitely have the sense of playing for my nation and for something far bigger than just myself.” On winning the junior singles crown at the US Open, she proclaimed: “This is a huge step for me personally… I am super happy to represent my country and do something worthwhile for the big platform and being able to inspire other younger people.” She competes not only for personal glory but to win honor for our people and country. She hopes that her success will help develop the sport of tennis in the Philippines and inspire our youth to take up the game. She truly deserves our prayers and support.
Philippine Olympic Committee President Representative Abraham Tolentino observed: “Alex will go a long way in her tennis career which is just budding.” Yes, our budding Princess of Tennis will bloom and mature, and will win more tennis crowns for our country. Her love for the game is unequaled despite the defeats that she suffered. “Marami akong dinaanan na hard times and really devastating losses but what is important to me is the happiness that the sport gives me and the love I have for the sport always overpowers any struggling or negativity that I may go through.” This is the right mental attitude for the game, which separates the champion from the wimps. Alex is now the highest ranked Filipino tennis player in the world and her WTA ranking will definitely go up as she resumes her winning ways. She will definitely hunt for more prestigious titles, more grand slam crowns. Foreign media should start learning Pilipino or they won’t be able to report her post-victory interviews. There is no stopping Princess Alex from becoming the Queen of the tennis court. She needs to repeat her triumph in another major tournament to prove that her maiden grand slam title at the US Open is not a fluke. With her grit and determination, she will be equal to the challenge. God save our Princess Alex!