"A crazy 24 hours" — Eala

by Gerard Arce @Sports News | August 5, 2026

Photo: Alex Eala / IG / Circulated

Iyan ang mga salitang nagbigay ng malaking alalahanin sa karera ni Alex Eala bago dugtungan ang finals match kontra Jessica Pegula dahil sa malakas na ulan.

Pero matapos ang madilim na langit sumikat ang bagong liwanag ka Eala para sa tagumpay.  "I think I warmed up a thousand times," wika ni Eala. "It was difficult, I think ... at the same time, it's happened to me a lot; rain delays a lot of times in my life. I think this is just kind of another one of those, although it was a lot higher stakes. But I think I was able to take my time and take those learnings from the first half of the match and do my best to apply them in the second, and I think it worked pretty well."

Unang ipinangako ni Eala nang matalo sa finals ng 2025 Eastbourne Open kontra kay Australian Maya Joint na doon pa lang magsisimula ang daan tungo sa mas malaking tagumpay sa WTA at aniya paghihirapan at pagtatrabahuhang husto ang lahat ng gagawin sa pro career.

Makalipas ang mahigit isang taon, tinupad niya ito at sinimulang padapain sina Zheng Qinwen, Leylah Fernandez, Elina Svitolina, Naomi Osaka at 11-time singles champion Pegula.

"At the beginning of the week, there is no way I would have thought that I would be holding this trophy ... These things kind of creep up on you, and I hold these moments really close to me," saad ni Eala. "[The draw] was a very steep hill. Coming into the tournament, I knew that the competition was super strong and my draw was quite tough. Every match was just a different set of obstacles. So, I'm really, really proud. I think I encountered my fair share of obstacles this week."