I watched the replay of the match between Alex Eala and Zheng Qinwen.
“This is a must-see,” I told my roommate of 52 years. “The Battle of Scarborough Shoal.”
Zheng is Chinese. Her government continues to violate our sovereign rights within our exclusive economic zone, defying a ruling by an arbitral tribunal that rejected its “nine-dash line” claim over what was used to be known as the South China Sea.
But watching the match, it was difficult to hate Zheng. Unlike her compatriot who called us monkeys, she’s decent and well-behaved. Besides, we’re not supposed to mix sports with politics. So let’s talk about the match and the players instead.
Zheng is one of China’s brightest tennis stars. She is 5’10”, plays right-handed and has a big serve (14 aces to Eala’s 4).
Only two years ago, she won the Olympic gold medal in women’s tennis singles in Paris. She was once ranked No. 4 in the world although she has fallen to No. 123 after undergoing surgery to her elbow last year.
She and Eala met in 2023 when Zheng was at the top of her game, engaging in an epic Asian Games semifinal battle that went to a third set before emerging victorious over the rising Filipino star, 6-1, 6-7, 6-3. That match was played in Hangzhou in Zheng’s homeland.
And Alex, need there be anything more to say about her? Adorable. Humble. Gifted. Pretty. Inspiring. And many more.
And she always says the right things. After her win over Zheng that was witnessed by hundreds of cheering and flag-waving Filipinos, she was asked how it felt being so popular. Her reply: I think the question needs to be rephrased, how does it feel being a Filipino?
I had goose bumps after hearing that.
So to the many adjectives used to describe Alex Eala, I’d like to add one more. Unifying. As regards her, the lines that sharply divide us are wiped out, even if temporarily. For one brief shining moment, we are all just Filipinos, not DDS, or Loyalist
or Kakampink.
Thank you, Alex for giving us a break from
our lunacy.