MANILA, Philippines — Filipino tennis ace Alexandra "Alex" Eala vowed to continue representing the Philippines in the best way she can on and off the court.
Eala made that promise in her speech on Monday at the Malacañang Palace, where President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos feted her for her historic Wimbledon run campaign.
"I promise to continue to represent the Philippines in the best way that I possibly can. Thank you so much and long live the Philippines," said Eala.
The 21-year-old netter became the first Filipino singles player to reach the Wimbledon fourth round in both the amateur and Open Era.
In that tear, Eala defeated Renata Zarazua, Maya Joint, and defending champ Iga Swiatek before falling to Jasmine Paolini.
To honor her accomplishment, Marcos conferred Eala a presidential citation the same day as she achieved a new career-best rank of No. 28 in the WTA.
“I'm so grateful that I am able to share my triumphs, most especially my recent run at Wimbledon with the country," said Eala.
"As we say, this is all our victory. I cannot begin to describe how overjoyed I am to see how my progress has been received by the Filipino people.”
Eala said she's proud to be a Filipino and will do her best to represent the Pinoys wherever she goes.
"It warms my heart because it comes from a profound and shared love for our nation. With that being said, I take great pride in being a Filipino and I carry the flag with me wherever I go," said Eala.
"I am a firm believer that where you come from is a big part of who you are, so like you said Mr. President I do my best to represent the country on and off the court because I'm really proud and it comes from a genuine place of love."
Eala will resume her WTA Tour campaign at the Mubadala DC Open slated from July 27 to August 2.
Mubadala is a 500-level event in Washington, D.C., United States, where Eala will begin her North American hard-court swing which culminates in the final major of the year -- the US Open.
