The Japan Times - Emotional Eala credits family for rise up WTA ranks

She became the first woman from the Philippines to beat a top-10 opponent since the ranking system came into being 50 years ago.

It was a result that Eala celebrated with spontaneity and emotion, hugging her team while on the brink of tears.

A little later, more composed but still struggling to comprehend her achievement, Eala tried to put it into context.

"It's a big thing to take in, and I feel it's important for me to take it in step by step. I'm so super proud of what I was able to accomplish, but it definitely fuels me more," she said.

"I know and it's in my mind that I have a next match, but I need to stop, and I need to recognize that what I did today was really amazing. I think my reaction on court, you know, sums up pretty much how I feel about it," she said.

When Eala was a 13-year-old girl, growing up in the Philippines, her talent was evident and her family made the difficult decision to send her to Spain to Rafael Nadal's academy in Mallorca.

There is no doubt that the access to the quality of coaching and facilities that the Spaniard makes available has helped Eala to grow into the 2022 US Open girls' singles champion and now a real contender on the WTA Tour.

But Eala knows that her road to the big stage began earlier than that move.

- Credit to family -

"The academy has been my home for the past seven years. Of course, my family should take credit for the foundation that they laid out before they sent me there." she said.

"But of course, the academy was able to build on that foundation in such a way that I'm able to be where I am now. And I think the combination of everything that I've been through since I started tennis is what has led to this moment and what has led to me having all these opportunities," she added.

Eala says it was a tough decision for her family to send her away to Europe at such a young age, although the fact that her brother Miko also signed up for the academy made it easier for her parents.

But as close as Eala evidently is to her family, she said she knew it was the right move.

"It was definitely a big decision for me, for us. As soon as I heard that, I jumped at the opportunity because I knew that I had to get out of the country eventually to improve," she added.

Eala gained her passion for the game through playing with her grandfather who was a keen club player and coached her brother and cousins before turning his attention to the youngster.

"I was kind of the next in line to do that and to spend time with him. It eventually blossomed into the career I have now," she said.

Her big win came the day after another Asian member of the Nadal Academy, Hong Kong's Coleman Wong, pulled off a stunning win of his own in Miami, beating American 13th seed Ben Shelton.

The two are good friends and Eale was delighted to see his victory less than 24 hours before her own triumph.

"I'm super happy for him and to see someone that I've known so long do so well is definitely an inspiration. Not just to me, but I feel in general a lot of people can take inspiration from him," she said.

But while she hopes that her victory will provide hope and motivation for other young players from her homeland, there is an understandable reluctance at such a young age to become an instant role model.

"The young kids, the youth in the Philippines, they don't need to take inspiration from me. They can take inspiration from anyone they want. You know, they can take inspiration from other things, which is what I did growing up," she said.

K.Tanaka--JT