Alexandra Eala credits family for inspiring historic US Open run for the Philippines

Alexanda Eala established her name in the history by becoming the first player from the Philippines to win a Grand Slam main-draw singles match at the ongoing US Open on Sunday. Eala dominated over No. 14 seed Clara Tauson in the first set 6-3.

However, the Danish player made a great comeback in the following set. In the final and deciding set, Tauson earned a lead of 5-1 to clinch the win. However, the 20-year-old turned the tables and made a memorable comeback to seal the third set, hence securing her first Grand Slam main-draw win, The World No.75 defeated Tauson with a decisive 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (11) triumph.

After the historic milestone, Eala expressed her happiness. She also highlighted her ambitious nature and said that she draws inspiration from her family, including ger brother.

"I would say that anything is possible, and you know, to dream big. I think me, as a person I am very ambitious, and although there was no one from my country who did this before or was successful in tennis, you know, I took inspiration from anyone I could. From my family, from my brother. So I think just to be ambitious and to dream big and know that you can do it."

Eala was born to mike and Rizzo Maniego. Her mother Rizza, is a former professional swimmer, who won a bronze medal in the 100-meeter backstroke at the 1985 Southeast Asian Games. Her brother Miko is also a tennis prodigy in the family. He represented Penn State from 2020 to 2024.

Alexandra Eala Opens up on her mind state for the upcoming faceoffs at the US Open

In an interview after her historic win, Alexandra Eala opened up on the match, saying it was special. She further revealed her plan of playing with the mindset. She will compete in the second round on August 27.

“I think so many factors made the match so special. I’ve been on the losing side of these tight tiebreaks before, so to be on the winning side, it’s very memorable.”

“The key for my upcoming match is just to come in with the same mentality, same fight,” she added. “Right now I’m just focused on recovering.” (via arabnews.com)

Alexandra Eala became famous at the 2022 US Open girls' championship, where she became the first Filipina player to win a junior Grand Slam singles titles.