Metro Manila, Philippines – A homecoming reception awaits Filipino tennis star Alex Eala on Monday night after her historic Wimbledon campaign, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. set to personally welcome the 21-year-old athlete, Malacañang announced.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the reception will honor Eala for becoming the first Filipino to reach the Round of 16 in the Wimbledon singles tournament.
“Matapos ang produktibong araw ng Pangulo sa Camiguin, mamayang gabi naman ay isang homecoming reception ang inihanda para kay tennis star Alex Eala na nagbigay-karangalan sa bansa bilang kauna-unahang Pinoy na nakapasok sa Round of 16 sa Wimbledon,” Castro said.
(Translation: After the President’s productive day in Camiguin, a homecoming reception has been prepared tonight for tennis star Alex Eala, who brought honor to the country by becoming the first Filipino to reach the Round of 16 at Wimbledon.)
Castro congratulated Eala on behalf of the Palace.
The reception comes after Eala climbed into the top 30 of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings, reaching a career-high No. 28 following her breakthrough performance at Wimbledon.
Eala moved up four places from No. 32 after advancing to the fourth round of the grass-court Grand Slam, where she became the first Filipina to compete in a Grand Slam singles main draw as a seeded player.
Her run ended with a hard-fought 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 loss to 13th-seeded Jasmine Paolini.
In a previous interview in Canada, Marcos described Eala as a world-class athlete.
“Tennis does not operate at a higher level than Wimbledon, so she’s really world-class,” he said. “She’s terrific.”
Marcos recalled saying years ago that Eala’s early international success was only the beginning.
“I said she was just getting started,” he said. “Well, it turns out I was right. She’s just getting started.”
He predicted that the young tennis star has even bigger achievements ahead.
