GROWING up, Alex Eala didn’t have many local tennis idols to look up to. In many ways, she became that figure, the one to break down barriers and make history for Philippine tennis on the international stage.
But like any aspiring athlete, Eala once looked up to someone, too.
For the now 20-year-old, that someone was Maria Sharapova, a former world No. 1 and five-time grand slam champion who captured the imagination of many, including a young, aspiring tennis player from the Philippines.
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“I looked up to so many players, but my super idol is Maria Sharapova — the way she plays, her mentality, and the way she presented herself,” Eala shared during a meet-and-greet event organized by Globe Telecom on Friday at Globe Tower in BGC.
“I was probably five when I first saw her. She was always dressed nicely, she was loved by everyone — and I wasn’t an exception.”
For Eala, Sharapova wasn’t just an elite athlete — she was a personality who understood her influence, a mold Eala now begins to fit herself, as more and more young Filipinos look up to her in the same way.
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