Alex Eala Doesn't Owe Us Anything

I started writing this article before Alex Eala’s semifinal at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, fully expecting her to win all the way to a gold medal. Gold meant an automatic berth at the 2028 LA Olympics. And in my mind she had already won an Olympic gold for the Philippines, a rare feat as all of you know. Then China’s Wang Xiyu beat her in the semis, and the top seed settled for a bronze.

I sometimes get ahead of myself, and this is a case of that. This was supposed to be a gratitude post, but after that disappointing loss, actually, it still is.

Look at the year she’s had. She won her first WTA title in August, the first ever for a Filipino, and climbed to a career high of No. 16 in the world. She’s playing more matches than at any point in her career, and her momentum is the highest it’s ever been. Even before the Singapore Tennis Open, she had already committed to playing for the Philippines at the Asian Games. Then Singapore went badly. She came to Nagoya anyway.

She really didn’t have to. I didn’t understand why she wanted to go.

Naomi Osaka isn’t playing the Asian Games, and they’re being held in her own country. Zheng Qinwen isn’t playing either. She’s China’s best player, the 2024 Olympic champion, and the defending Asian Games gold medalist, and she chose the China Open in Beijing instead. Alex went in as the No. 1 seed, at the peak of her career, with everything going up. The upside was low. There was more to risk without much gain. The logical thing to do would be to rest, or play Beijing too and maybe win it. The money alone settles it. An Asian Games gold pays around ₱1 million in government incentives, which is small next to the roughly ₱15 million she earned from that one WTA title. She has a team & bills to pay, and this is the point in a career where you protect the momentum. She’s playing so much at a high level. We do not want any injuries.

Instead, she’s being penalized for it. Beijing is a mandatory WTA event, so skipping it means a fine of around US$10,000 and ranking points she can’t earn back this season. This is her job, her passion, and her living.

A part of me wants to call it naiveté. A part of me is very jaded about the Philippines and about loving it, because why would you do that? What has the Philippines ever given her? Maybe she’s doing it for the people, sure, but she doesn’t owe anyone anything.

It helps to put her next to our other sports unicorns, the Filipino talents who play abroad. We’ve gotten used to stars who are all hype with little to show for it, who don’t always suit up for the national team, and who reportedly hold out for a bigger “budget” when everyone else on the roster gets the same allowance. That has become the norm in other headline sports.

Alex is breaking that norm and carrying the whole of Philippine tennis on her shoulders. Actually, not just Philippine tennis. It’s the whole of the Philippines, from all geographies and “colors.” It’s almost like a vocation. And as a 40-year-old cynic, I want to shout at her team to stop letting her do this. She doesn’t owe anyone anything!

And yet, I appreciate it. I appreciate her team. I appreciate her. I have a love-hate relationship with being proud of the Philippines and being Filipino, but when she plays, it’s love all around.

Nagoya also gave me a small wish for her WTA matches. The usual chant is “Let’s go Alex, let’s go!”, which is very American. In between sets at the Asiad, someone in the crowd was shouting “Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!” and the crowd shouted back “Mabuhay!” It was more intimidating, it was very Filipino, and subconsciously it makes you feel ready for war. Add “Laban, Alex!” with a “Laban!” back, and we have the start of something. As a fan base we can work out when each one goes, the way K-pop fans have a chant for every part of a song: one call for a break of serve, another for set point, another for the changeover. Watching the games right now, I sort of still feel the ick and the second-hand embarrassment of all the disparate cheers & chants. But this is good. This means she really is just beginning. And as her moniker goes, “Kapag lumago, hindi na hihinto.” We all certainly hope so.

So, the final tally. Bronze for the top seed. Fined by the WTA. Ranking points gone. No gold, no automatic Olympic slot.

But all the same, she’s young, and she is going to be the next Manny Pacquiao, more eloquent and with a lot more matches to watch. Watching Alex play makes me more anxious than any Pacquiao fight ever did. Manny was already the best at the peak of his popularity, and by the time most of us were watching, he was a GOAT. Alex isn’t there yet, and that’s what makes this fun. We get to be with her for the whole journey.

She doesn’t owe anything to the government or to Filipinos everywhere, but she gives, and she inspires.

A hero, becoming.