Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.
— Legendary Brazilian footballer Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known by his nickname Pelé
MAYPAJO, Caloocan City — When our country’s pride, Alexandra “Alex” Eala, turned professional in March 2020, she started with a junior combined ranking before making her debut on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Women’s World Tennis Tour at No. 1,180 in the world rankings.
Today, Alex has made remarkable strides on the professional tennis circuit and has already found herself knocking on the door of the sport’s elite.
Her meteoric rise has also brought added pressure, with many hardcourt aficionados wondering whether she can turn her undeniable talent into Grand Slam glory.
“It would be crazy,” tennis icon Roger Federer once commented. But judging by the way things are going, our 21-year-old rising star is on track to achieve what no Filipina tennis player has accomplished in the last 100 years.
Her title in Washington earlier this summer marked her first at the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour level. This was sandwiched between two career-best performances at Wimbledon and the US Open.
Alex is clearly making progress toward that ultimate goal.
Former tennis player and now tennis pundit Pam Shriver praised Eala in a brief assessment of what makes the Filipina so special.
“I feel like her movement is exceptional. I love the way she uses angles. A lot of left-handers through the years, and it can develop; they just develop the appreciation of spin and the use of spin really well.
“I also have seen a great improvement on some of her weaker shots. Let’s just use the serve. That was so vulnerable a couple of years ago,” Shriver enthused.
Agreed. We have seen Alex raise her level of play, particularly with her first serve. But overall, it is her positive attitude that has contributed greatly to her game.
Still, Shriver pointed out that “even if you don’t have a great serve, it’s really how you back it up.”
“(Alex) backs it up really, really well. If she’s not having a good day serving, it doesn’t affect the rest of her game,” she noted.
The truth, however, is that with the kind of serve Alex has, it may never be as powerful as those delivered by tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams during their prime.
Nevertheless, Alex can take inspiration from former German ace Angelique Kerber, who captured three Grand Slam titles without having an outstanding serve.
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