1Pacman Rep. Mikee Romero and Mandy Romero pose with Alex Eala after her semi-final match. —Picture from Mikee Romero
MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala’s exceptional giant-killing run on the highest degree of tennis competitors conjures up extra younger Filipinas to have interaction in sports activities and contribute to elevating Philippine sports activities to worldwide requirements.
Rep. Mikee Romero of the 1Pacman celebration checklist made the comment as he personally congratulated Eala on Thursday in Miami, the place she surprised the ladies’s tennis world by defeating three of the world’s prime gamers and lengthening one other to a few units within the Miami Open tennis championship.
Romero and his daughter Mandy watched at Arduous Rock Stadium because the 19-year-old Eala pushed world No. 4 Jessica Pegula to her limits in an exciting semifinal match earlier than bowing out — ending an unimaginable streak that noticed her remove No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland, No. 5 Madison Keys of the USA, and No. 25 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia.
She didn’t drop a single set on her solution to the semifinals.
Eala, ranked a hundred and fortieth on the earth and a wild-card entry within the occasion, earned $332,160 in prize cash and 400 factors on the earth rankings. Extra importantly, she received the admiration of her opponents and the tennis world along with her regular sport and mature demeanor. She was the 2022 US Open ladies’ champion.
“Alex Eala is a shining instance of how perseverance, dedication, and self-discipline can propel Filipinos to the very best ranges in any sport,” Romero said after assembly along with her post-match.
Romero, who’s in Wellington, Florida, to compete within the US Open Polo Championship together with his staff GlobalPort, made the 70-mile drive to Miami to observe Eala’s historic semifinal efficiency.
“Each Filipino ought to be impressed and be pleased with what she has completed, Romero stated.
Romero, a widely known patron and advocate of sports activities comparable to basketball, volleyball, taking pictures, biking, and polo, is stepping down after 9 years because the 1Pacman party-list congressman, which has championed youth and sports activities improvement because the celebration’s essential platform.
He’s handing the reins of 1Pacman to his daughter, Milka — a former varsity soccer participant and a devoted sports activities patron who has advocated for elevated illustration of Filipino ladies in sports activities.
“It’s becoming that Alex Eala delivered such an uplifting efficiency throughout Girls’s Month (March),” Milka Romero stated.
“Her success ought to encourage extra younger Filipinas to pursue their athletic goals with the identical perseverance and dedication to excellence.”
Milka stated Eala joins a rising checklist of Filipinas who’ve achieved world recognition in sports activities. This checklist consists of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who made historical past by profitable the Philippines’ first Olympic gold medal, and Yuka Saso, who captured the gold in ladies’s golf on the Asian Video games and received the primary of her two US Open golf championships as a
Filipina.
The checklist additionally consists of Nesthy Petecio (boxing), Rubilyn Amit (billiards), Bong Coo (bowling), Margielyn Didal (skateboarding), Rianne Maliksi (beginner golf), Dorothy Delasin and Bianca Pagdanganan (skilled golf), and the Filipinas, Philippine staff that certified for the FIFA Girls’s World Cup and achieved a historic win towards New
Zealand.
“The ladies are a gold mine in Philippine sports activities,” Milka added. “We should proceed to put money into ladies’s sports activities and nurture extra proficient athletes who can shine on the world stage.”
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Eala’s exceptional run on the Miami Open shouldn’t be solely a private triumph but additionally a beacon of hope for aspiring Filipino athletes. Her success underscores the potential of Philippine sports activities and highlights the significance of sustained assist for younger athletes striving for excellence on the worldwide stage, she stated.
