Alex Eala in action at the International Tennis Federation W25 Manacor. ALEX EALA FACEBOOK
The Philippines’ brightest tennis hope, Alex Eala, got another big push after gaining a $25,000 assistance from the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to cover her competition expenses.
Eala, who is competing currently in the W25 Manacor in Italy, expressed delight over the ITF grant, whose aim is to “aid [players’] development in professional tennis and enabling them to compete at Grand Slam tournaments.”
The 16-year-old Eala already had two Grand Slams titles in girls doubles and for the past two years was seeded highly in singles. She has been competing both in the pros and in juniors although mainly in grand slam events to maximize the last two years of her eligibility.
She joined 43 other players who received the Grand Slam Player Development Program which in the past also helped fund the campaigns of eventual superstars Victoria Azarenka, Jelena Ostapenko and Simona Halep.
“At the heart of our development goals is that any player with talent, no matter where they live or what resources they have available to them, will have the chance to fulfil their potential,” said ITF president David Haggerty in a statement.
The Filipino star was to face Italian fifth seed Giulia Gatto-Monticone later Wednesday in the first round of the W25 Manacor third leg at Rafael Nadal Academy.
She and French partner Elsa Jacquemot walked over hometown pair Anna and Bianca Turati on Tuesday.