Armies of Filipinos rally behind Eala in Wimbledon main draw

WHETHER its on the tough hardcourt of Manila or now on the grand greens of Wimbledon, Alexandra “Alex” Eala can count on armies of Filipinos rallying behind her as she sets out to netting another Grand Slam main draw history.

Playing as the first seeded Filipina player in any Grand Slam main draw ever, the No. 29 seed Ms. Eala arrived at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club like a home bet with legions of fans in jubilation as she scored a 6-1, 6-2 whooping of Mexico’s Renata Zarazua in Round 1 of the grass championships.

Ms. Eala had already experienced the same rockstar treatment from her kababayans in almost every city in the world as one of today’s tennis crowd darlings. But not in a magnitude like Wimbledon.

“Hindi ko inakala na ganoon ka-puno ang (Court 12) kasi alam ko talaga ang hirap makakuha ng ticket dito sa Wimbledon so I’m very thankful sa mga kapwa nating Pilipino,” said Ms. Eala ahead of her Round 2 duel against Maya Joint of Australia at press time to clinch her first-ever third-round appearance in any Slam. “I never would have thought that at Wimbledon I would have a home crowd. I really enjoyed it.”

And Ms. Eala, WTA No. 30, would need every shout, clap and cheer from each of the Filipino in attendance in a massive rematch with WTA No. 87 Ms. Joint, who denied her a first pro title in the same country at the 2025 Eastbourne Open finals with a 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (12-10) win.

Ms. Joint, 20, played spoiler to Ms. Eala’s dream match after raining on former world No. 1 and 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams’ tennis return since the 2022 US Open, 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3.

A win could catapult the 21-year-old Filipina to the Round of 32 for the first time ever after tying so far her second-round finish in the 2025 US Open last year, battling the winner between former world no. 1 Karolina Pliskova of Czechia or world No. 3 Iga Swiatek of Poland.

Shortly after, Ms. Eala alongside Czechia’s Nikola Bartunkova were to face a tall order in the doubles against the grizzled eighth-seeded pair of Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia and Sofia Kenin of USA for a juggling act.

Ms. Eala last month smahshed her second career title by besting Ms. Bartunkova in Birmingham, where she likewise enjoyed a strong fan support. That title, paired with a Berlin Final Four stint, ignited her impressive 9-3 grass season record that pushed her to a historic Wimbledon seeding. It also snapped a 0-13 record against Czech players.

This time and like in every city she had played in, win or lose, Ms. Eala will draw an extra fuel of motivation from within.

“The Filipinos keep surprising me, and surprising me in good ways,” beamed Ms. Eala, who previously said that home is not the place but the Filipino people. — John Bryan Ulanday