ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA can count on the unwavering support of the Filipinos led by the Philippine Tennis Association (PHILTA) amid her rare slump and ahead of a chance for redemption in the Ningbo Open next week.
PHILTA on Thursday reassured its vote of confidence and all-out support for Ms. Eala, now world No. 19, who is off to a flat start in the Asian swing with two straight early exits.
“We at Philta are immensely proud of Alex, grateful for everything she has done for Philippine tennis, and fully behind her as she continues to make history,” said Secretary General John Rey Tiangco.
The 21-year-old Filipina pride back in August reached a career-best ranking of No. 18, solid runs in the Wimbledon and US Open as well as a breakthrough title in Washington to set multiple milestones for Philippine tennis.
But for only the first time since her meteoric rise, Ms. Eala has been in a funk since then, bowing in the WTA 500 Singapore Open Round of 16 and in the WTA 1000 Wuhan Open first round as the heavy favorite and way higher-ranked bet.
Ms. Eala, as the No. 3 seed, fell to No. 180 Tatiana Prozorova of Russia in the Singapore Open before folding to world No. 217 Han Shi of China in the first round of the Wuhan Open.
That’s back-to-back upsets for Ms. Eala, who was 162 and 199 rungs above the said underdogs, respectively.
As the No. 1 seed in the 20th Asian Games in Japan without Asia’s top guns, Ms. Eala also fell short in maximizing her best shot at gold after a semifinal loss to No. 85 Xiyu Wang of China to settle for another bronze medal for the second straight edition.
But Ms. Eala is unfazed by the dry spell, looking at the bigger picture of continuing to represent the country in the biggest of stages while trying to get back on her feet — starting in WTA 500 Ningbo Open, still in China, on Oct. 19 to 26.
After the Ningbo Open, Ms. Eala is also confirmed to debut in the WTA 500 Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo on Oct. 26 to Nov. 1 with hopes of finally regaining her footing and confidence.
“The most I can do, I feel at the moment, is to give back to my country and to my fellow Filipinos, is to just do my best and, you know, continue to work hard and try to inspire people and show them that this possible just through the things that I do,” beamed Ms. Eala after exiting Wuhan, the final 1000-level tour before the WTA Finals, where she also the missed the cut, on Nov. 8 to 15 in Indian Wells.
“And so what I’m going to try to do is take it match by match and try to, you know, focus one step at a time and try to bring out the best level that I can.” — John Bryan Ulanday