Eala wins 'for all the girls with ruffled socks and chubby cheeks'

Three years ago, Alexandra Eala was presented with her graduation diploma from the Rafael Nadal tennis academy by Iga Swiatek.

The Pole was world number one and had just won her third French Open title. She told the players assembled in front of her that she hoped they "would give 100%" to whatever they did in the future.

"I hope you will be tenacious," she said. , external

"I hope no matter what you do in the future years, if you're going to do it the best way possible, I'm sure you'll have no regrets at the end."

On Saturday, she produced a brave, crowd-enthralling performance on Wimbledon's Centre Court to stun defending champion Swiatek 7-6 (11-9) 6-2.

With it, she became the first player from the Philippines to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam in the Open era.

Asked what the victory meant, the 21-year-old replied: "I went to train every day after school with my ruffled socks, light-up shoes and chubby cheeks - to younger me this is everything.

"It is incredible to have my countrymen cheering me on, knowing that we are all in this together.

"This goes out to them, my family and all the girls with ruffled socks and chubby cheeks. It means the world."

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Eala played tennis as a youngster with her brother and grandfather, telling BBC TV she "still can't keep up" with her older brother, even now.

She first rose to prominence in 2022, when she was on the cover of Vogue in her home country after becoming the first Filipina to win a junior Grand Slam title with her US Open triumph.

She rose to wider notice after her 2025 Miami Open breakthrough - which ironically began with another victory over Swiatek.

Aged 19 and ranked outside the top 100, Eala took out Grand Slam champions Swiatek, Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys to reach the semi-finals.

Since then, she has reached the world's top 30, claimed two titles on the second-tier WTA 125 tournaments and finished runner-up at Eastbourne last year.

In the build-up to this year's Wimbledon, she beat world number two Elena Rybakina and eighth-ranked Elina Svitolina in Berlin, and also teamed up with Venus Williams in doubles.

Her success has meant her popularity sky-rocketed. Queues snake around the Grand Slam grounds when she is scheduled on an outside court, while viewing parties are held for her matches back home.

That brings with it a pressure both good and bad. If Eala's wins are celebrated as a point of national pride in the Philippines, then her losses are also felt deeply.

It was a situation that got on top of her at the Australian Open, where she was overwhelmed by the amount of people who simply queued to watch her practice.

"I try to be as authentic as I can. I believe in being genuine," Eala said.

"Although I'm very grateful and very welcoming of all the support that I get, me, my team and my family are the ones who have been putting in the hours.

"We're the ones who are here at the courts 12 hours in a row. We're the ones who wake up early, who come back home late.

"I think that work ethic is really what keeps me grounded."

Against Swiatek on Wimbledon's biggest court, she absorbed the pressure admirably.

Roared on by a huge crowd on Henman Hill, Eala saved eight of the 11 break points she faced and hit 24 winners to 21 unforced errors to see off the six-time major champion.

"The match started at 20:30 local time and everybody on social media was following the match and posting about Filipino pride," former Philippines tennis player Dyan Castillejo told Sportsworld on the BBC World Service.

"I'm getting hundreds and thousands of texts from so many people. Everybody just wants to be a part of it.

"Everybody felt that they were a part of it, every Filipino."

Eala's visor is embroidered with the phrase 'kapag lumago, hindi na hihinto', which translates to 'once it grows, it cannot be stopped'.

Written in her native Tagalog, it allows her to "carry parts of my culture with me on court".

"I resonate with those words so much. More than being unstoppable, I think it refers to a dream and an aspiration to become unstoppable," Eala told BBC TV.

"Ever since I was young, I've always been such a dreamer, so being able to live out my dreams and experience things like this only makes me more ambitious."

"For me to be able to represent the Philippines in Wimbledon and in the biggest stages in the world, it means so much to me."

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