4 min readUpdated: Jul 5, 2026 06:27 PM IST It was only three years ago that Iga Swiatek, then the top ranked player in the world and a three-time Roland Garros champion, handed out a graduation diploma to 18-year-old Alexandra Eala from Philippines at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain. The stars had undeniably written something special for that girl in the near future, as she rocked Centre Court on Saturday by beating Swiatek herself, now the defending champion at Wimbledon, in straight sets (7-6, 6-2), in the third round. The start of an inspiring journey Born in the Quezon city of Philippines, Eala’s early years were spent training on a tennis court painted over a local basketball court, frequently having to avoid basketball hoops, due to the absence of traditional grass courts. Sporting genes run in the family as Eala’s mother Rizza Maniego-Eala, is a former competitive swimmer as well as a Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist while her brother, Miko, is a former collegiate player, with her late grandfather Roberto serving as …