Five lessons from Alex Eala’s historic win

The Filipina tennis player shows that personal style and competitive strength can have a place on the same court

Let me be honest. I am not a tennis fan.

My entire education in the sport came from PE classes back in the day, where I learned that “love” means zero and other rules of the game. Sadly, though, I have forgotten a lot of the terms. I run to Google to seek help at times.

But over the past few weeks, something changed. My feed filled up with Alex Eala. Friends started randomly sending match clips, even ones from the US and Kazakhstan. Group chats I never knew were interested in tennis suddenly had opinions about it. Even my editor here is invested in Alex’s matches.

All of a sudden, I found myself watching a 21-year-old Filipina compete on courts halfway around the world, understanding only part of what was happening and still feeling my heart race every time.

Then Alex made history, becoming the first Filipino to win a WTA Tour singles title. I still don’t completely understand tennis. But I understood that win and what it meant to Alex and the entire Philippines.

Here are five lessons I learned from watching Alex Eala and the lessons I hope every young girl carries with her.

1. Nobody succeeds alone.

Before the world knew Alex, there was her grandpa, Roberto “Lolo Bob” Maniego, who patiently coached her when she was a little girl. There were her parents, who lovingly supported her dream, and her brother Miko, who also played the sport and shared his love for it with her.

Eala’s journey from a young athlete to a history-making champion gives aspiring players another reason to believe in long-term goals 

After her breakthrough Wimbledon victory over Iga Świątek, Alex fought back tears as she remembered those early days. “I went to train with my brother and my grandfather every day after school, with my ruffled socks and light-up shoes and chubby cheeks,” she recalled.

Success is not built alone. Behind every record-breaking person is someone who believed before the rest of the world did.

Find your Lolo Bob. And someday, be someone’s Lolo Bob.

2. You can be feminine and still be a fighter.

One thing about Alex: her nails are always beautifully done. She wears them in different colors of nail polish or sports cool nail art. Alex “nails it” every single game.

It sounds like a small thing, but I love that detail about her because girls are often told to choose between being taken seriously or being fun and embracing our femininity.

Alex proves that strength does not require giving up softness. Think Elle in Legally Blonde. You can love beautiful things, be beautiful yourself, and still compete with (and beat!) the best in the world.

There is always room for both.

3. Great things come from small beginnings.

I was reminded by this sticky message from a decades-old brand campaign of a chocolate drink.

At 13, Alex left Manila for the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain. Most of us at that age were worrying about homework or obsessed with boy bands, Hello Kitty, and sticker collections.

She was already building a career.

Success, Alex reminds us, is not an overnight decision. It is a thousand (or more!) ordinary ones repeated every day, especially when nobody is watching. The championship we celebrated was built through years of unseen hard work.

4. Falling behind is not the end.

Alex lost the first set in the DC Open final. Earlier in the tournament, she also trailed behind in a set before fighting back to win.

Alex Eala’s rise reflects years of training, family support, and steady work behind every career milestone 

That reality is powerful. A bad interview is not a failed career. A failed launch is not a failed business.

One challenge is not the end of the story.

As positive psychology would have it, grit is not about never falling behind. It is about refusing to stay there and moving forward.

5. Believe the impossible is possible.

For years, a Filipino winning a WTA singles title felt impossible. But Alex proved it was not.

Somewhere today, another young Filipino is picking up a racket, a paintbrush, a stethoscope, a camera, or a microphone because he or she saw someone from the Philippines make history.

I suppose that is how change begins. One person goes first. Another decides, “Maybe I can, too.”

I still can’t explain tennis scoring. But I know that you don’t need to understand every rule of the game to recognize when someone has mastered it.

Maybe the dream in front of you feels impossible today. Remember what Nelson Mandela said: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

We join in celebrating Alex and her contribution to Philippine sports and our nation’s pride. — Kate Adajar