ENDEAVOR
For more than a week last month, Filipinos savored with pride the brilliant performance of 19-year-old Alex Eala on the tennis courts of Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Entering the World Tennis Association (WTA) 1000 event with a world ranking of no. 140 among women professionals, she went all the way to the semifinals before bowing out and earning the no. 75 rank.
This tournament is rated just a tier below the Grand Slam events of tennis, namely, Australian Open, Wimbledon, French Open, and US Open, along with the WTA Finals —and is so-called because the winner earns 1,000 WTA points. Alex is now poised to enter the main draw of the 2025 French Open starting May 25, two days after her 20th birthday.
Long after her last two opponents, world no. 2 Iga Swiatek and world no. 4 Jessica Pegula, walked off the court, Alex continued to draw sustained cheers from an affectionate audience.
“It was a rocky moment coming in here,” she told tennis ace and sportscaster Dyan Castillejo, Diane noted that after breaking the service of Iga Swiatek five or six times during their quarterfinals match, Alex was evidently dictating the pace and outcome, winning in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5, against a formidable rival who was the world’s no. 1 player from 2022 to mid-2024 before she was overtaken by Arina Sabalenko, the eventual winner of the 2025 Miami Open.
“I am tired,” wrote Pegula on the sportscaster’s clear panel after her grueling match against Alex that she won at 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3. Alex was leading in the first set before the 31-year-old Pegula steadied her game and seized the initiative. Midway through the second set, Alex sprained her ankle that had to be bandaged. Despite this apparent disadvantage, she emerged even stronger and won the second set, extending the match into a winner-take-all final set that ended way past midnight, Miami time.
“Siyempre sa isip ko, kaya ko ang bola niya,” Alex told Diane, “it’s all about mindset.”
Hearing her say this while watching the interview led me to recall that many years ago, I was teaching an elective on Self-Management (or was it on Personal Mastery) at the MBA program of the Asian Institute of Management (AIM). Back in those days, the significance of emotional intelligence gained currency, thanks to the pathfinding work of Daniel Goleman. According to Harvard Business School Online Insights:
“Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and manage your emotions, as well as recognize and influence the emotions of those around you. The term was first coined in 1990 by researchers John Mayer and Peter Salovey but was later popularized by psychologist Daniel Goleman.”
Interviewed by the Harvard Business Review, Goleman said: “The most effective leaders are all alike in one crucial way: They all have a high degree of what has come to be known as emotional intelligence. It’s not that IQ and technical skills are irrelevant. They do matter, but...they are the entry-level requirements for executive positions.”
Alex has embraced this wisdom as a nascent world-class sports phenomenon. Watching her compete is a truly inspiring experience. She told Diane further that she has learned not to be afraid while playing and competing: “I would miss some, I would force some (shots) but I just (have) to get the job done. As many of her admirers observed, it’s amazing for a losing player to wear the bigger smile after a hard-fought match.
Ken Olivier posted Character Qualities of Top Tennis Players in the website of Spring Woodlands Tennis Academy, Fairway Oaks, Texas, on Sept. 18, 2023.
Noting that tennis is marked by “fast-paced rallies and intense competition,” he said that there are five character qualities that set top players apart from others who are similarly equipped with talent and the capacity for hard work. These are: First — resilience, or bouncing back like a champion; second — discipline, the key to consistency; third — focus, or having a laser-like concentration; fourth — tenacity, or never giving up; and fifth — sportsmanship, or embracing the spirit of the game.
Asian Journal News, “the Filipino-American community newspaper since 1991” ran a comprehensive story last March 23, Alex Eala Breaks Through at Miami Open: A Star Rises for the Philippines. It described her win against World No. 17 and 2017 French Open Champion Jelena Ostapenko, as a “career-defining performance” that was achieved “with nerves of steel and a heart full of purpose.”
Tracing her journey to that moment that began in Quezon City, where she learned to play tennis at age four, Alex went on to study at Immaculate Conception Academy and Colegio de San Agustin. In 2018, Alex was admitted to the Rafa Nadal Academy in Spain that she credits for having honed her mental toughness and playing skills. “It just brought a whole different level to my game,” she said, “I don’t know where I would be without going there. It was such a huge turning point in my life, and I’m just super grateful.”
A previous high point in Alex’s career was when she won the US Open junior title in 2022. In her winner’s post-game interview that she delivered in her native Filipino, “she deeply acknowledged her supporters, tearfully thanking them: “Buong puso ko ’tong ipinaglaban — hindi lang para sa sarili ko kundi para makatulong din ako sa kinabukasan ng Pilipinas. So hindi lang ’to panalo ko. Panalo natin ’tong lahat.” (I wholeheartedly fought for this, not just for myself, but to contribute my share toward a brighter future for the Philippines. So this not just my victory. This victory is ours.)
Rafa Nadal, the tennis legend sent Alex a heartwarming message: “What a great win for you and for the Philippines!”
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