By Matias Grez, CNN

(CNN) — It seems almost every time Alex Eala steps onto the court, she writes a piece of tennis history for the Philippines.

Eala made her breakthrough as a wild card at the Miami Open in March, where she defeated three grand slam champions en route to reaching her first WTA Tour semifinal.

In doing so, she became the first Filipina to reach a WTA semifinal, the first to record a win over a top-10 player and the first to break into the world’s top 100.

Eala’s wins through the first three rounds of the Miami Open were more than every player from the Philippines combined had managed at the tournament in the Open Era.

Now, she’s at it again.

On Sunday, the 20-year-old battled past No. 14 seed Clara Tauson 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(11) in the first round of the US Open to record her – and the Philippines’ – first ever win in the main draw of a grand slam.

After fighting back from 1-5 down in the final set, Eala fell to the ground and covered her face in disbelief as Tauson hit her forehand long on match point.

“I’m so blessed to be the first to do this,” she told reporters after the win. “Like I said, I take so much pride in representing my country. It makes what I do bigger than myself, and it adds meaning to what I do.”

There was a raucous crowd cheering Eala on at the Grandstand arena as she made her comeback in the deciding set.

Flushing Meadows, the park where the US Open is held, is close to Little Manila in Queens, where there is a large Filipino community – and they brought the noise.

The roar that went up inside the stands when Eala secured match point was befitting of Arthur Ashe Stadium on the final weekend of the tournament.

“It’s so special,” she said of the support in her on-court interview. “They make me more and more special. To be Filipino is something I take so much pride in.

“I don’t have a home tournament, so to be able to have this community here at the US Open, I’m so grateful they made me feel like I’m home.”

Eala began training at the Rafael Nadal Academy in Spain when she was 13 years old and has long been one of tennis’ most exciting prospects, winning the girls’ doubles titles at the 2020 Australian Open and 2021 French Open.

In 2022, she became the first player from the Philippines to win a junior grand slam singles trophy when she won the US Open girls’ singles title.

That victory vaulted her to stardom back home and led to her gracing the cover of Vogue Philippines soon after.

“It’s hard to think that you’re the first to do so, you know, because this is my first time going through the journey as well,” Eala said when asked about the importance of her breakthrough for tennis in Southeast Asia.

“I’m so happy to see the progress of tennis in Southeast Asia in general. I know that a girl from Indonesia also won her match today.

“I’ve known her for a long time, so I’m happy for her. I’m happy that players from this region are coming up and starting to be successful.”

That girl from Indonesia is 23-year-old Janice Tjen, who defeated No. 25 seed Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 on Sunday to become the first Indonesian player to win a main draw grand slam match since Angelique Widjaja at Wimbledon in 2003.

Tjen will next face Emma Raducanu, who she has looked up to since the Brit stunned the tennis world by winning the 2021 US Open as an 18-year-old qualifier.

Tjen, who represented Pepperdine University in the US and was runner-up in the 2024 NCAA doubles, is now aiming to become the first Indonesian player to reach the third round of a grand slam since Yayuk Basuki reached the round of 32 at Wimbledon in 2000.

“Janice is super nice, I’ve known her for quite a long time,” Eala said. “Growing up in the same region, we would run into each other a lot in the same tournaments.

“I haven’t been able to spend a lot of time with her recently. I know she was in college and now she’s playing pro and doing super well.

“I’m so happy for her, and it’s nice to see someone that you grew up with in the biggest stages in the world.”

In another boost for Asian tennis, 21-year-old Coleman Wong became the first men’s player from Hong Kong to record a win at a grand slam in the Open Era after he defeated Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 7-5, 7-6(4) in the opening round of the US Open.

Eala says her day-to-day hasn’t changed much since bursting onto the scene in Miami, aside from more people recognizing her.

Her work ethic has remained the same since she was a kid, plus she credits the “great team” around her for keeping her grounded and hungry.

Eala recently reached her first WTA Tour final at June’s Eastbourne Open, where she was beaten by Maya Joint.

“Just being in these tournaments, in these slams, all the 1000s, it just motivates me so much more knowing that the same time last year, there’s no way I could have gotten into the main draw with my ranking,” she said.

And Eala’s message to Asian women who now look up to her after a whirlwhind five months? “Anything is possible and dream big.”

The-CNN-Wire
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