It’s not the title Eala won, it’s the rivals she toppled

By Alex P. Vidal

“Tennis is a perfect combination of violent action taking place in an atmosphere of total tranquility.” – BILLIE JEAN KING

ANYBODY can win the Mubadala DC Open, a tennis tournament that, in terms of prestige, sits below the four Grand Slam tournaments: Wimbledon, the US Open, the French Open, and the Australian Open.

But not all tennis players in the world can beat four truly world-class Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) behemoths en route to capturing the Mubadala DC Open, recognized as the only combined ATP 500 and WTA 500 joint event globally and held annually at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Washington, D.C.

Which was what Pinay phenom Alexandra “Alex” Eala did.

Because of the quality of rivals Eala, 21, mowed down to become the first Filipino to bring home the 57-year-old tournament and the first joint 500-level event on the ATP and WTA tours, it didn’t matter what kind of tournament she won.

What matters most is Eala will now be remembered in history for having pulverized Olympic heroine Zheng Qinwen, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, in the round of 32.

China’s Qinwen, 23, is the Paris 2024 Olympic Games gold medalist in women’s singles tennis who defeated Croatia’s Donna Vekic, 6–2, 6–3, to become the first Asian tennis player to win an Olympic gold medal in singles.

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What matters most is Eala upset defending champion, Quebec-born 23-year-old half-Filipina Leylah Fernandez, 6-2, 7-6(1), in the second round.

What matters most is Eala also crushed world No. 10 Elina Svitolina, 6-3, 6-4, in the quarterfinals (her third win over the 31-year-old Ukrainian star).

What matters most is Eala trounced four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, 28, in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. For many Filipino tennis fans, the dangerous Japanese star needs no further introduction.

What matters most is Eala outgunned 32-year-old two-time Mubadala DC Open champion Jessica Pegula, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, in the final on Aug. 3.

It’s hard to imagine how a player like Eala, ranked No. 28 in the WTA rankings, was able to wreck the aforementioned WTA superstars in one tournament, one after another, to seize her new career-high ranking.

Climbing from No. 28 last week, Eala has now gained 500 ranking points from her maiden tour-level title to raise her total points from 1,666 to 2,106.

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Below we chose only four of the few Filipino underdogs like Alex Eala who scored scintillating upsets and shook the world of sports:

1. Rafael “Paeng” Nepomuceno
2. Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco
3. Efren “Bata” Reyes
4. Carlos “Caloy” Yulo

NEPOMUCENO. Honored by Guinness World Records four times, Nepomuceno, 69, holds three unbroken records: 1. the youngest World Bowling champion at 19 years old; 2. the most world crowns across three different decades; and 3. the most worldwide titles in a career, establishing the record in 2007 with 118 titles, then extending it in 2013 with 124 titles. In 2019, Paeng eclipsed his own record with 133 titles. The Quezon City-born bowler is the only athlete to have won bowling titles in six consecutive decades: the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s.

VELASCO. Onyok, 52, was one of the three Filipino heroes of the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games, winning the gold medal in the 48-kilogram (light flyweight) division by defeating Thailand’s Pramuansak Phosuwan, 11-9.

Onyok’s biggest achievement came at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, where he narrowly missed the gold medal in the 48-kilogram division after losing to Bulgaria’s Daniel Petrov Bojilov, 6-19, to settle for the silver medal.

Onyok was impressive on his way to the final, stopping Taiwan’s Chih-Hsiu Tsai by RSC (referee stopped contest) at 2:27 of the first round, defeating Cuba’s Yosvani Aguilera, 14–5, blanking Morocco’s Hamid Berhili, 20–10, and beating Spain’s Rafael Lozano, 22–10.

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REYES. Bata, 71, captured the billiards community’s imagination when he rolled past Taiwan’s Chang Hao-ping, 17-8, in the 1999 World Pool Championship in Cardiff, Wales, at age 49 to pocket the USD 60,000 top prize.

On his way to the final, Reyes subdued nemesis Germany’s Ralf Souquet, 11–7, and Japan’s Akikumo Toshikawa, 11–9. He survived the tournament’s toughest test against Jimmy White, burying a brilliant kick shot on the 2-ball before clearing the table.

In the semifinal, Reyes overcame an early 3–1 deficit against compatriot and kumpadre Francisco “Django” Bustamante by winning seven racks in a row for a dominant 11–4 victory.

YULO. Who can forget Caloy’s record-breaking two-gold haul in gymnastics at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games? In winning the men’s floor exercise and vault, Caloy, 26, became the first Filipino male athlete and the second Filipino overall to win an Olympic gold medal.

Like many gymnastics stars before him, diminutive Yulo took to the sport naturally. Yulo, who hails from Malate, Manila, and his grandfather, Rodrigo Frisco, went to a Manila public park when he was seven years old.

While his grandfather looked on, Yulo, who now resides on his property in Tagaytay City, took an interest in a young gymnast practicing in the park, mimicking his moves with such ease that Frisco decided to take his grandson to a gymnastics class with coach Rodrigo Ortero at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

Caloy’s potential soon caught the attention of Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) President Cynthia Carrion-Norton. When the gymnast was 16, she facilitated Yulo’s move to Tokyo to train under Munehiro Kugimiya.

And the rest is history.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines. — Ed.)