Philippine tennis sensation Alex Eala paved the way for more Filipinos to take an interest in tennis after her stellar year so far in the WTA Tour.
There is no doubting the impact that her recent success has had on Philippine tennis icon Alex Eala, as she gears up for her first-ever Grand Slam main draw later this month at Roland Garros.
But more than what it has done for her career, the 19-year-old has been left in awe of how it has impacted other people. Evident during her semifinals run at the Miami Open, Eala’s popularity has been on an uptick.
Because of the increased popularity, tennis has become a curious thing for a lot of people to try — especially in the Philippines after Eala making headlines in the past few months.
Now in the midst of some respectable outcomes in her last few WTA tournaments leading up to the French Open, Eala spoke about how it has brought her joy that more and more Filipinos are starting to take an interest to the sport.
“I’m so happy with the attention that tennis is getting right now in Manila,” Eala told WTA in an interview.
“I see so many people, especially on Instagram, I see [them] picking up rackets, making videos. So I’m just so grateful that what I’ve done hopefully has played a part in that,” she added.
The Rafa Nadal Academy product has never been amiss in speaking about wanting to inspire more people to take up tennis, especially as she experienced an early career where her country men didn’t care much about the sport.
Even as she remains waiting for the peak of her career at only 19-years-old, Eala hopes to see the future of Philippine tennis flourish more in the years to come.
As she grows in her newfound success in her career, Eala hopes to bring along the rest of Philippine tennis along with her.
“I’d love to see how tennis can grow into a big sport in the Philippines,” she said.
Eala will see action next in the Italian Open slated May 6 to 18 before finally making her long-anticipated debut in a Grand Slam in Roland Garros in late May.
She is currently ranked World No. 72 in the world.