Alex Eala’s dream came to a heartbreaking end when she bowed to American Jessica Pegula in the semifinal of the women’s singles event of the Miami Open.

Still, the 19-year-old Filipina has nothing to be ashamed of.

On her way to the Last Four, she defeated a constellation of tennis superstars like world No. 25 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in the Round of 64 and world No. 5 Madison Keys of the United States in the Round of 32 before posting a walkover victory over world No. 11 Paula Badosa of Spain to advance to the quarterfinals.

Then came the biggest challenge — world No. 2 Iga Swiatek.

Swiatek is no ordinary foe.

The Polish powerhouse may still be young at 23 but she already has 22 singles titles, including five grand slams and 10 WTA 1000 crowns. In short, Swiatek isn’t just good — she is indestructible.

But the Filipina refused to be intimidated.

Playing fearlessly from the start, Eala dictated the tempo with her powerful serves and left-handed, spinning forehand that left Swiatek struggling for answers. Whatever she lacked in experience, she made up for by displaying quick feet, reflexes and a devil-may-care attitude, especially in scoring the most crucial points of the match.

When Swiatek’s return went long toward the final stretch of the second set, Eala appeared stunned while absorbing what she branded as a “full circle moment” between her and the athlete whom she respects and looks up to as a role model.

After all, just two years ago, Eala shared the stage with the Polish superstar as she delivered a speech during her graduation from the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy. Prior to that, Swiatek trained with the then 15-year-old Eala, giving her valuable insights on how to successfully navigate the world of professional tennis.

With her quarterfinal victory over Swiatek, Eala stands to get a massive boost in her world ranking, paving the way for her to skip the grueling qualifying phases of future Grand Slam events like the French Open in May, Wimbledon in June, and the US Open in August, as well as other WTA 1000 tournaments.

She also banked a cool P19 million, which is not bad considering that her career earnings was just $32,000 — or roughly P1.8 million.

But more than what will be reflected in the rankings and her bank account, Eala’s victory boosted the morale of the Filipinos as a nation, making them believe that the glass ceiling has been completely shattered and they are capable of emerging victorious on the international stage regardless of whom they are pitted against.

At this stage, there are serious cracks in Philippine society. With former President Rodrigo Duterte detained in cold and lonely The Hague in the Netherlands over crime against humanity charges, the nation is deeply divided between his throng of supporters and those who believe that justice has been served.

Then, here comes the midterm elections with the campaign season that started last Friday — a day after Eala posted her earthshaking triumph over Swiatek. Aside from that, there are other crucial social problems Filipinos face everyday like the rising cost of commodities, the Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea, corruption, crimes and other issues.

Eala’s win made all of them go away. In one fleeting instance, Filipinos were united as they cheered for the young tennis superstar who started her career on the courts of Valle Verde in Pasig City before sharpening her skills in the Spanish city of Mallorca.

Suddenly, Filipinos all over the world forgot the arrest of their former chief executive as they were busy holding each other’s hand while cheering, hoping and praying for Eala’s success.

Truly, sports is a powerful unifier. It brings people together across cultural, social, political and religious boundaries by fostering shared experiences and a deep sense of belonging. It somehow washes away all our social problems as we savor the sweetness of triumph as one nation.

So, thank you, Alex. Thanks for giving us an important victory that made us proud to be Filipinos during this time of division, hatred and social uncertainties.