Tennis – Eastbourne Open – Devonshire Park Garden Tennis Membership, Eastbourne, Britain – June 28, 2025
Philippines’ Alexandra Eala in motion throughout her ladies’s singles remaining towards Australia’s Maya Joint Motion Photographs by way of Reuters/Paul Childs
President Marcos on Sunday cheered tennis sensation Alex Eala on forward of her Wimbledon predominant draw debut, saying one of the best is but to come back for the younger athlete.
Eala made a historic runner-up end within the Girls’s Tennis Affiliation (WTA) Lexus Eastbourne Open 2025 in the UK on Saturday night. She is now No. 56 within the WTA rankings, leaping 18 locations from No. 74.
“The battle goes on, Alex! All of us watched you make historical past as the primary Filipino to succeed in a WTA 250 singles remaining,” Mr. Marcos posted on his official Fb web page.
He praised the 20-year-old tennis star after she turned the primary Filipino to succeed in a WTA finals, calling her feat a victory for your entire nation.
“That (feat) alone is already a victory for our nation and for the hundreds of thousands of Filipinos who stand proudly behind you,” he added. “Preserve going, your finest is but to come back.”
Eala will likely be taking part in towards defending champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic on Tuesday. That is her first match on the predominant draw of Wimbledon, a 12 months after falling brief in her remaining qualifying sport towards Lulu Solar of New Zealand.
Filipino spirit
Speaker Martin Romualdez additionally lauded Eala calling her a logo of nationwide pleasure and perseverance.
“Alex Eala has achieved extra than simply play the sport—she has made historical past and stirred the soul of a nation,” Romualdez stated, including that Eala has introduced the Philippines to the worldwide stage of tennis,” he added.
The WTA is the worldwide governing physique for ladies’s skilled tennis and organizes the WTA Tour, the primary skilled tennis event for ladies. The Lexus Eastbourne Open is a WTA 250 event.
“Past data and rankings, what she gave us was one thing much more highly effective: hope, pleasure, and the promise of a brighter future for Philippine sports activities,” Romualdez stated.
“Alex Eala might have misplaced a match, however she received a nation’s coronary heart,” he added.
Romualdez additionally stated Eala reminded the world of the Filipino spirit: resilient, pushed and full of potential.
Outstanding run
The Eastbourne Open is extensively thought to be a warm-up occasion earlier than the Wimbledon Championships, the place Eala will once more make historical past as the primary Filipino to play within the prestigious occasion.
Observers contemplate Eala’s path to the Eastbourne remaining as nothing in need of outstanding.
She navigated by the qualifying rounds, defeating Hailey Baptiste and Zeynep Sonmez, earlier than making a major affect in the primary draw.
Her predominant draw victories included spectacular wins over Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti, a walkover towards 2021 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, and a dominant efficiency towards Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska within the quarterfinals.
Within the semifinals, Eala battled previous Frenchwoman Varvara Gracheva in a grueling three-set match to safe her historic spot within the remaining.
This adopted a powerful exhibiting earlier this 12 months on the WTA 1000 Miami Open, the place she reached the semifinals, notably defeating a number of Grand Slam champions.
