Despite this, she has rewritten Philippine tennis history.
On Monday, July 6, Filipina tennis star Alex Eala returned to the grass court at the Wimbledon Championships in the United Kingdom for her headline-making feat of being the first-and-only tennis player from the Philippines to ever enter a second week of a Grand Slam event.
The 21-year-old, who had just been named the new world number 28, her career-best, battled with Italian Jasmine Paolini, whom she last met at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in the United Arab Emirates earlier in the year.
During which, Alex successfully won against Jasmine, who was a previous champion of that tourney in 2024.
Paolini, the 13th seed of this tournament, was met with strong competition from Eala, who is seeded 29, from the onset of their match.
While the Italian won the first set, the Filipina drew firepower in the second to extend their match to a decider.
However, despite her efforts, Alex was not able keep Jasmine at bay, ultimately ending her historic Wimby journey in the fourth round, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6.
Nonetheless, she has one record after another during her run in the competition, which is one of the most prestigious in the annual tennis calendar.
Alex became the first Filipina to be seeded, the first to make it past two rounds and even dethroned the defending champion, Iga Swiatek, in the succeeding one.
She has since been confirmed for the Mubadala DC Open in Washington, D.C., USA which will open on July 27.
