Chasing history

History beckons for Alex Eala as she makes her Wimbledon Championships debut against defending champion Barbora Krejcikova of Czech Republic on Tuesday (Manila time) in London.

The 20-year-old Filipina will be entering the Centre Court overflowing with confidence and determination after making a strong run before yielding the title to Australian Maya Joint in the Eastbourne Open, 4-6, 6-1, 6-7.

Despite the painful setback, Eala swears that she had already moved on and is now focused on competing in her second Grand Slam of her career — and a performance that will alter the course of Philippine tennis history.

While Eala might not have won the title, she still got a massive boost as she is now at No. 56 in the latest WTA rankings while serving as the first female Filipino player to reach a WTA Tour final.

“The emotions are still a bit raw, but overall, there have been so many good moments this week, so many good learnings as well. I hope to take that with me going into Wimbledon,” said Eala, who is set to become the first Filipino female to play on Centre Court of the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club.

“Obviously, it was a big load this week of matches — but that’s kind of what we wanted, to get that time on grass, and get that time competing.”

“I’ll be for sure 100 percent ready by Tuesday.”

Delivering a strong performance in Wimbledon is a tall order for Eala as she is coming off an early exit in her previous Grand Slam stint following a 0-6, 6-2, 3-6 loss to Emiliana Arango of Colombia in the first round last May.

To make sure that she’ll be ready, she competed in various grass court events like the Birmingham Open, Ilkley Open, Nottingham Open, and Eastbourne Open, where she secured the silver medal that greatly boosted her morale.

“Physically, I’m doing quite well. The grass season is not very long, and I haven’t had many (matches) in general, so I’m happy that I’m able to do well,” Eala said.

“I think it (grass) suits my game.”

But beating Krejcikova will not be easy.

In the 148-year history of Wimbledon, only four players were able to eliminate the defending champion in the first round: Charlie Pasarell of the United States (1967), Steffi Graf of Germany (1994), Lleyton Hewitt of Australia (2003), and Czech netter Marketa Vondrousova (2024).

Eala could add her name on the list should she pull off a stunning upset of the 29-year-old Krejcikova, who will be entering the game with an injured thigh that forced her to withdraw from her quarterfinal match in the Eastbourne Open.

But the two-time Grand Slam champion insists that the injury will not have an impact on her performance against the fast-rising and dangerous Filipina.

“I had to have a couple of days off where I didn’t really play any tennis but I did some off-court stuff. I’ve been feeling every day a little bit better, so I’m really happy with that,” Krejcikova said.

“I hope by Tuesday everything is going to be fine. I hope I’m going to have a nice match and a great tournament.”

Krejcikova admitted she hasn’t seen much of Eala’s playstyle as she expects nothing less from the Filipino ace.

“To be honest, I don’t really know that much about her yet because she’s obviously a young player, an upcoming player, and one of the players of the new generation,” Krejcikova said.

“I know that she was doing quite well in the first half of the year. It’s going to be a great matchup. I’m looking forward to seeing where the young generation is.”