I am a sports lover. Have always been. But although I have heard of the names of Pinoy tennis greats like Felicisimo Ampon, they were of a different generation. The other names were products of the Filipino diaspora; they were born and grew up abroad but with Filipino blood.
One that caught my attention recently was young tennister Leylah Fernandez. But I got frustrated after knowing that she is currently representing Canada, where the family now lives. Her mother is Filipina. Alex Eala, for her part, was born and raised in Quezon City.
But Philippine tennis has always been elitist and tennis courts are mostly found in subdivisions. This is unlike basketball wherein improvised rings can be set up everywhere using improvised balls and where poor kids can make their imaginations soar.
Young tennis sensation Eala was born in Quezon City, true, but her clan has the financial resources to support her dreams. She lived in Spain at 13 years old and was schooled at the Rafa Nadal Academy. (Yes, Rafa, the retired tennis legend.) And you need money to be able to do that.
Eala is homegrown like Kai Sotto, my other idol who is still pursuing his dream of being able to play in the National Basketball Association in the US. Being homegrown is why Alex is happily carrying the Philippine flag. While Leylah might be better in tennis now, she is less popular currently than Eala. Eala, though, has the better physical attributes to succeed than Leylah. And because she carries the weight of the Filipino nation, Eala is more popular to Filipinos everywhere than Leylah.
And it helps that Alex is beautiful in her “Filipina-ness.” Some of her fans may not admit it, but her Pinay beauty partly attracted them to her. She can’t be the Manny Pacquiao that the masses love, but the Filipino elite does warm up to her. After Pacquiao, Eala is the next big Filipino name in world sports.
My batchmate in elementary school, Nilo Llenes, keeps himself fit by playing tennis. Philippine tennis is growing now, thanks to Alex’s lead. What I mean is that tennis may not be as popular to us as boxing, basketball and even volleyball, but it has many Pinoy followers. And they finally have a Pinay to gravitate to.
I don’t know how Alex is faring at the currently held Philippine Women’s Open, the first for the country. But there is a saying that “a rising tide can lift all boats.” Local tennisters will be given a chance to shine and to see what improvements are needed to make them world-class. I myself have finally been introduced to homegrown tennis talents because of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 125 event.
For years, I have been wondering why many Filipino tennisters are only good in the juniors and fall by the wayside especially when they turn professional. The talent is there. What is lacking is ample government and private support. I hope that with Eala’s rise, the attention of the government and the private sector will finally be directed at supporting Filipino sports talents.