The entire country and its diaspora are now in the grip of Eala Mania. She of tennis fame whose on-court exploits has captured the imagination of Filipinos all over the world, and even more, fans in other countries who find her story riveting.

As a long-time tennis player whose amateur career was thwarted by heel spurs incurred by playing on hard surfaces during our seven year stay in the US, I was certainly following her progress on court and online.

She is certainly not the first Filipino player who gained tennis fame internationally. Felicisimo Ampon, considered the greatest Filipino tennis player of all time (until now, at least), achieved a world number seven amateur ranking in the late 1940s, winning multiple Asian Games gold medals. Raymundo Deyro got to the singles fourth round at the French Open championships in the 1950s and was a dominant force in Asian tennis. Cecil Mamiit proudly represented the Philippines proudly in international competitions, bagged multiple god medals in Southeast Asian Games and achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of no. 72.

But Alexandra Eala is in a league of her own, being the best females singles player produced by the Philippines, and now ranked no. 20 among professional female tennis players. Having won the Mubadala DC Open championship in stunning fashion by beating defending champion No. 7 seed Leylah Fernandez, No. 3 seed and four-time Grand slam champion Naomi Osaka, No. 2 seed Elena Svitolina, and No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula. She had been termed a giant slayer, but in reality, she is no longer an upcoming player. She has arrived. The journey started when her grandfather trained her at age four. Then she was given a scholarship at the Nadal Tennis Academy in Spain at age 13 where she trained hard until she started playing in the international circuit and turned pro at the age of 19.

But what’s more remarkable about her is the way she draws crowds to her matches. Her games are fully booked by hordes of mainly Filipino fans who cheer for her loudly and proudly, flags and all. At this time when all we hear is bad news, including massive corruption and disgraceful senators’ antics, she is a breath of fresh air for Filipinos worldwide. So, it’s no wonder we cheer her on and celebrate her victories.

It has also stirred a tennis revival at home where many youngsters were inspired by her trajectory. Now more and more people are flocking to tennis courts and hopefully, we will discover another tennis phenom among them.

But let’s face it. Embarking on a tennis career, or any other sport, is not cheap. It needs well-planned programs to screen gifted youngsters who can be trained to their full potential like Alex Eala. There is no national program I know of that scouts and trains tennis prodigies locally. Tennis courts are inaccessible to most Filipino youngsters. Instead, what we have are basketball courts all over the country. This sport is the Filipino favorite, notwithstanding the fact that we never do well in international competitions where height is might.

The government ought to prioritize sports where Filipinos naturally excel. Pole vaulting is another possibility where EJ Obiena is excelling. Weightlifting should be encouraged as our female weightlifters are doing great. Hidilyn Diaz scored an Olympic gold medal, a first for the Philippines. Gymnastics is a great fit for Filipinos requiring agility and natural grace rather than brute strength or height (Carlos Yulo is a double Olympic gold medalist too). Chess is another sport where we have produced several grandmasters (Eugene Torre among others). Sadly, we lost Wesley So to the US due to lack of sponsorships locally. Boxing has always been a favorite among Filipinos with Manny Pacquiao also earning millions of dollars in cash prizes alone.

But tennis promises to be more rewarding for a professional. Alex has scored multiple sponsorships locally (Globe Telecom and BPI) and internationally (Nike and Babolat), and will surely get more with her recent successes. Tournament earnings are also lucrative with her accumulating over $4.4 million in cash prizes. At the rate she’s going, she may well reduce our foreign debt on her own, which is a really good incentive for the government to promote tennis nationally.

More than that tantalizing prospect, national sports programs will promote better health among the young who are now more inclined to sit with their cellphones and laptops than engage in sports. It should reduce our obesity rate which is fast turning into a national epidemic with its attendant health risks.

This is the opportune time to reconsider our sports programs and gear up to produce more world champions, grandmasters, and Olympic gold medalists in sports where Filipinos can excel. Because basketball is a lost cause.

Shine, Alex, shine!