For a fleeting moment on Tuesday afternoon in London (late night in Manila), the center court of the historic lawns of the All England Club seemed ripe for a seismic upset.
Filipino tennis star Alex Eala, in her Wimbledon singles debut, came out swinging and stunned the crowd by taking the first set, 6-3, from defending champion Barbora Krejcikova. The Czech star looked rattled—spraying unforced errors, battling double faults, and offering Eala the slightest opening, which the 20-year-old fearlessly seized.
It was a dream start that hinted at a breakthrough. But as the saying goes: never underestimate the heart of a champion—and the 29-year-old Krejcikova, a two-time Grand Slam winner, proved exactly why.
Something obviously clicked for Krejcikova in the second set—perhaps a sense of urgency, or simply the muscle memory of a player who has held aloft a year earlier the Venus Rosewater Dish, the trophy given to the Wimbledon ladies’ singles winner. She tightened her serve, moved more fluidly, and found her rhythm, reeling off four straight games en route to a 6-2 equalizer.
The deciding set was all business. Krejcikova’s class shone through, showing why she remains one of the game’s most versatile and battle-tested players. With clean winners and dominant service games, she closed out the match, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1—ending Eala’s valiant run in her Wimbledon singles debut.
Still, it was a landmark moment for Eala, who entered ranked No. 56 in the world and stood toe-to-toe with the world’s number 17. The Filipino tennis star showed grit, confidence, and flashes of brilliance on probably the game’s grandest stage—something not lost on the crowd, nor her fans back home.
Eala’s Wimbledon appearance isn’t over just yet. She will return for the doubles competition, where her court craft and composure could prove formidable.
As for Krejcikova, once a question mark due to injury in Eastbourne just days earlier, her resurgence on Centre Court affirms one thing: champions may wobble, but they rarely fall twice.
