Phil tennis champ Alex Eala wins first qualifying match for US Open 2024
By Marivir Montebon
New York - Philippine tennis champion Alex Eala made a historic entry into the US Open tonight August 19 as she won her first qualifying match against 26-year-old Australian tennis player Maddison Inglis.
Wearing a lavender tennis dress, Alex Eala wins her first qualifier to the US Open 2024 in New York. Two more wins and on the main games.
Eala, 19, is the first Filipino tennis player to have the chance to qualify in the 16 spots at the US Open 2024. At the sun-drenched Court 14 of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Eala played dominantly against Inglis who earlier sought for a physiological examination.
She needs to win two additional qualifying matches within this week to advance to the main games. She scored 6-2-6 against Inglis's 3-6-1 for the two-hour-and-three-minute match.
The New York crowd was dominated by Filipino cheerers at the US Open's opening (first day of the Fan Week) and may have boosted Eala's win.
Barely catching her breath after her 1st qualifier win, Eala greets her Filipino fans at the US Open Fan week.
At Court 14 of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, Eala signed autographs and did selfies with Filipinos in NYC on her first qualifier win.
Asked how she managed to stay on top of the game, she smiled and said, 'di ko inakalang ganito ka daming mga Pinoy.' (I didn't realize there were a lot of Filipinos here.)
Eala told the crowd that she's happy for her initial victory and looks forward to another match tomorrow, August 21.
Tennis buff and accountant Ledy Almadin said she's happy with Eala's historic win. Almadin wrote on her Facebook account: "Amazing support for Alex from the Filipinos. Never seen something like this before. It’s a milestone for the Philippine athlete, first Pinay to ever play professional at the US Open Tennis. Though it’s only in the qualifier at the moment, this is a great start."
Born in Quezon City, Philippines, Alexandra Maniego Eala is currently ranked 143rd by the Women's Tennis Association. She won her first junior singles title in the 2022 US Open. The teen trailblazer has trained at the Rafael Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain since she was 13 years old.
“Rafael Nadal has taught her focus and confidence. It’s showing on how she plays her game,” quipped Almadin during the US Open qualifiers.#
