By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter
HARD work and commitment to improve pay off — a lesson that is very clear for Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala.
Making significant waves in the last two years as a juniors player, and, recently in the professional circuit, Ms. Eala, 16, shared that it has been fun seeing her growth as a player in a sport she is passionate about.
But she admits there is still much to be done and achieved; something she is looking to work for with help from the people who have her back, including those at the Rafa Nadal Academy where she is a scholar.
“I think it’s important to keep wanting to improve and keep wanting to work hard whether you win or you lose. There are going to be good times and hard times, but that’s part of being a tennis player and being an athlete,” said Ms. Eala in a virtual press conference with local sportswriters on Sunday.
“It’s always important to stay positive; having the right people around you, pushing you to be the best you can be.”
The long-time Globe ambassador counts the girls doubles titles in the Australian Open (2020) and French Open (2021) and a couple of International Tennis Federation pro titles this year as a junior-exempt player as among her standout feats in the last two years.
Ms. Eala said she is proud of all of them but that she is not dwelling too much on the results at this point in her career.
“I’m not focusing too much on results at the moment. My goal right now is improving my overall game. I believe the results will just follow,” she said.
Next for Ms. Eala is the Wimbledon Championships which is to kick off later this month.
She is competing in both the girls’ doubles and singles events. Ms. Eala said they have reached out to a number of individuals to partner with in the Wimbledon doubles event but they have not decided yet on a particular player.
In the recent French Open, Ms. Eala had Russian Oksana Selekhmeteva as partner in her run to the title.
After Wimbledon, Ms. Eala said her schedule is pretty much open and dependent on the situation with the pandemic.
She underscored though that work for her definitely continues.
“I’m having a fun time [playing]. Tennis is something I really enjoy. It’s not all fun, of course, because you have to work to stay fit and on top of your game. But that’s part of the job.”