WHETHER she's as low as London Bridge or as tall as the Victoria Memorial at Buckingham Palace, Alexandra “Alex” Eala will swing and take out anyone who stands in her way in her bid to qualify for Wimbledon's Last 8.
There could be back-to-back champions, including Italy's Olympic gold medalist Jasmine Paolini this time around, the Filipina champion riding on the heels of Philippine tennis history to tread another unprecedented path in the much-anticipated Round of 16 tournament at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on Monday.
“Just because I'm emotional doesn't mean I'm satisfied. So let's move on to the next round and go,” declared the 21-year-old Ms. Eala shortly after knocking off reigning Wimbledon queen and world No. 3 Iga Swiatek of Poland in the third round under the bright lights of Center Court, 7-62 (9), 6-62 (9), 6-62 (9).
Ms. Eala, number 29 seed, and Ms. Paolini, No. 13, will lock horns with a yet-to-be-determined game and court selection on Monday but soon, anticipation is already high following the Philippines' Earth-jolting upset of the 25-year-old champion and 25-year-old Slamak.
The winner will face 12th-seeded Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk — a good friend of Ms. Eala — or Ashlyn Krueger of the United States who has not been beaten in the quarterfinals.
From the top 128 players, Mrs. Eala reached the Last 16 after a stunning victory that sent shockwaves not only to the strong Filipino nation but to all corners of the world with the all-time high social media buzz on Wimbledon pages.
Clips of Ms. The winning entries received over 400,000 reactions and 20 million views on Facebook while it has already reached over 600,000 likes and 20 million views on Instagram as well.
The world has witnessed the amazing rise of Ms. Eala became the first Filipino – male or female – to reach the Round of 16 of any Grand Slam as she received greetings from many local and international people, including a meeting from Catherine, Princess of Wales, before her London moonshot.
As if her previous feats as the first Filipino player ever to be knocked out of any Slam main draw, the first Filipino to win a major and the first Filipino to enter the third round were not enough.
With that alone, you've gained quite a few new fans. Name it: President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., eight-time world champion Manny Pacquiao and legendary artist Lea Salonga led the local delegation while 39-time Grand Slam champion Billie Jean King and five-time Slam queen Maria Sharapova were among the international stars throwing the Ms. He taught with love and praise.
Even superheroes like Andrew Garfield (Spider-Man) and Tom Hiddleston (Loki) were among the London crowd who jumped in surprise and cheer after Ms Eala ended the reign of the Pole star.
“(Alex) is a star,” said Ms. The 39-year-old Sharapova, Ms. Their picture back when Ms. Eala was a child during the reign of Mrs. Sharapova as the number 1 player in the 2000s is now a trending image on the internet.
But nothing compares to the image of him hitting the ball while diving straight onto the beautiful lawns of the All England Club – considered the mecca and oldest tennis venue in the world.
It has become the image of every media outlet in the world symbolizing the toughness, anger and ay-say-die mantra of Ms. Eala and the Filipinos against all odds, against champions and sports heroes.
And that will be tested by another sports giant in Ms. Paolini, who reached the finals of Wimbledon and the French Open in 2024 with one Slam doubles crown and two Olympic golds in his pocket, looks to be a heavy favourite.
“I think Jasmine (Paolini) is a great player. She is a great fighter especially it was not easy for me in Dubai. It will not be an easy match here either,” said Ms. Eala, who surprised Ms. Paolini at the Dubai Tennis Championships earlier this year, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5).
What makes it easier for Ms. What, if anything, are the waves of online and local support and momentum for Philippine tennis' biggest run of any major ever.
And to stop that Pacific tsunami off the coast of England which seems to be Ms. Eala would be “dangerous” for Ms. Paolini.
“I think Ms. Eala's game is very well suited to grass. She showed a high level of play in Berlin. I think she is a very dangerous player here at Wimbledon,” admitted Ms. Paolini, who made short work of No. 43 Maria Sakkari of Greece, 6-1, 6-2, in another third round.
“It's going to be tough.”
After Ms. Swiatek, Mrs. Eala has now beaten seven Top 10 players in her blossoming career and is keen to add an Olympic champion to that growing list.
“This is about the culture of Filipino fans and I think it's more than tennis. It's in sports, music, boxing and all fields,” Ms. Eala rejoiced, drawing inspiration from Hall of Fame boxer Mr.
With the chance to advance to the big quarterfinal, it is now up to Ms. He takes what it takes – whether he falls to swing and hit the ball again, until he can't anymore. – John Bryan Ulanday
