In his citation to the rising tennis star on receiving her in Malacanang on the 13th July, Philippine President Bongbong Marcos was on point here…
You have brought such pride to the Philippines, to the Filipinos, not only because of your success, but also because of the grace with which you handle that success. Because the way you play and the way you comport yourself makes us proud.
Indeed, Alex Eala distinguishes herself for her grace and composure and, above all else, her grounded discipline. We see it on court respectfully facing the person on the other side of the net and off court when facing the media and her fans. In her demeanour, we see her inviting Filipinos to join her in her walk across the world stage — a world stage that demands the very grace she exhibits.
The Philippines, of course, did not “send” Alex Eala to be her ambassador. She got to where she is today largely off hers and her family’s private hard work and investment and the opportunity given her by the Rafa Nadal Academy and only then, after all that, pulled the Philippines along for the ride.
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Alex Eala is a great person who happens to be a great tennis player. Indeed, “[she] is a better person than she is a tennis player,” matter of factly stated by US Open Tournament Director Eric Butorac during a chat with Tennis Channel hosts. “I hope she doesn’t lose that, ’cause it is so special.”
It is special by any standard and Eala is humanity’s pride, not just Filipinos’. Perhaps it is specially true of tennis, often described as a particularly humbling sport considering the consistency and focus on court it demands of its players and the loneliness of being in the moment locked in battle amidst the heat of a match. It “could have gone either way” is something Eala is heard saying more than once in interviews following gruelling matches. It sums her acute awareness and embrace of the unnerving fragility of that focus and consistency that, in its microscopic ebb and flow second by second over rallies and across, spells the difference between victory and defeat.
Punto por punto!
That Eala often reflects out loud on how easily a match could have turned one way or another attests to her humility — that as much as she is a brilliant and powerful player, much of what happens has to do with the other player and how the elements that happen to surround a match collude in mysterious ways to determine an outcome. It’s respect for everything and everyone in the space she finds herself in today and at every moment that got her here. So special indeed.
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