President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. congratulated Alexandra “Alex” Eala on being the first Filipino to win a Grand Slam singles title on Sunday, September 11.
Eala, 17, won the US Open junior girls’ title with a 6-2, 6-4 triumph against No. 2 seed Lucie Havlickova of the Czech Republic early Sunday morning at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York (PH time).
“It is with an immense sense of pride and joy that I congratulate Alex Eala on her historic win at the US Open Junior Girls’ Singles Championship. Another Filipina has raised our flag, and made our nation proud. To Alex, thank you, for the honor you brought us, and we, your kababayans (countrymen), wish you all the best in your journey up ahead,” read President Marcos’ message on his official Facebook page.
Eala made her winning speech on Court No. 11 in Filipino in New York.
“Buong puso ko itong ipinaglaban hindi lang para sa sarili ko kundi para makatulong din ako sa kinabukasan ng Philippine tennis. So hindi lang ‘to panalo ko. Panalo natin lahat,” said the 17-year-old Filipina tennis wonder.
For the past four years, Eala has been a scholar at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Spain under coach Adrien Alexis Vaseux.
Eala currently has three youth Grand Slam championships to her name, including doubles victories at the 2021 French Open with Russian Oksana Selekhmeteva and the 2020 Australian Open with Indonesian Priska Madelyn Nugroho.
