After French Open 2020 stint, Alex Eala hopes more young Filipinos will take more interest in tennis

After becoming the first Filipina to make it into the quarterfinals of the 2020 French Open Juniors At Roland Garros in Paris, Alex Eala hopes to inspire more young Filipino athletes to take interest in the sport.

"First of all, that other young Filipino tennis players take more interest in the sport and hopefully are more devoted now that they know that they can also do it. It doesn't matter where they are from," Alex told the press in a virtual media conference.

"Second, I am happy to add reputation to the Philippines and for others to take Philippine Tennis more seriously," she added.

The 15-year-old athlete said she is "aware that a lot of young Filipino tennis players follow me and watch my matches."

Given this awareness, Alex said "the most I can do right now is be the best example that I can."

"I try to have a good attitude on court and try to show that I am passionate about the sport and hope that they could take away that from my performance," she added.

When asked if she is ready for a life in the pros as a tennis athlete, she said "Well, I love for this to be my career. This has been my dream ever since I'm young, I can't see myself doing anything else and I love the life of an athlete you know. I've been working really hard for it."

Alex said her long-term goal "is to become a professional, to be no.1, and to win grand slam."

Alex is in her third year training under Rafael Nadal Academy in Manacor, Spain.

On Sunday, Philippine Sports Commission issued an erratum after Alex Eala's family denied receiving support from Philippine government.

In the now-deleted post, the PSC on Saturday claimed it provided the Filipino athlete monetary sport, including some P3M for her tournament travels.

But her mom Rizza Maniego-Eala quickly refuted the claims. "PSC post NOT true," began Rizza, saying while they are "thankful to the government," they "have not received any of the funds in the millions of pesos mentioned here in this post."

Alex eventually lost the semifinal match to hometown bet Elsa Jacquemot 6-3, 6-2. — LA, GMA News