ROME — While Alex Eala is preparing for the French Open, her favorite Grand Slam remains Wimbledon.
“Growing up, Wimbledon was always the Grand Slam for me because I loved the tradition and seeing it from afar was very beautiful,” Eala said. “I saw everyone was in all white, the grass was so green, everything very elegant. So I carry that opinion until now.”
Eala has played in the main draw of the last four Grand Slams. So Roland Garros will mark her second time around in that category. She’s ranked No. 42.
“I haven’t been past a second round in a Grand Slam,” she said, “so that would be nice.”
There were plenty of Filipino flags waving in support of Eala amid the statues lining the picturesque Pietrangeli court at the Italian Open.
Eala beat 31st-seeded Wang Xinyu 6-4, 6-3 to follow up her three-set victory over Magdalena French in the opening round and put together consecutive clay-court victories for the first time since the qualifying rounds for the 2024 French Open.
“Yes, I did notice it,” Eala said of the Filipino support in Rome.
The 20-year-old Eala has become a worldwide sensation among the large Filipino diaspora ever since her breakthrough run to the Miami Open semifinals last year. Her fan base expanded again when she beat Clara Tauson in a long third-set tiebreaker in the first round at the US Open last year for her first win in a major.
She attracted more attention at this year’s Australian Open — the closest Grand Slam to the Philippines.
Eala also noticed Filipino flags hanging outside a building on her way to visit the Vatican this week.
“I was like, ‘OK, we really are everywhere.’ And then I later learned that that’s the embassy of the Philippines to the Vatican,” she said. “And funny story: My great grandmother, she used to work there way back when. So it was full circle or something sentimental.” AP
