Alexandra Eala became the talk of the town in her opener at Wimbledon, when she took to Center Court for a showdown against defending champion Barbora Krejcikova. With a simple but bold nod to her Filipino heritage, the Rafa Nadal Academy student captivated fans.
Eala, one of the breakout stars of the 2025 season, was spotted with a unique hair tie when she matched Krejcikova shot for shot on Tuesday. The hair tie, sent to her by Nike, represented a sampaguita flower — the national flower of her home country of Philippines.
Filipinos often incorporate the flower into their outfits, in the form of attachment to their crowns or corsages. Garlands made out of Sampaguita glowers are also used as form of honor in the community.
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Nike also included a Tagalog proverb in the gift box to Alexandra Eala: "Kung may tinanim, may aanihin." It loosely translates to 'If you plant, you will harvest' -- a rousing call used in the country as a motivating message.
Boldly representing her country so, Eala took the fight to her opponent in her Wimbledon opener, taking the opening set 6-3. Unfortunately she could not hold the momentum, and ended up losing the contest in three sets.
Alexandra Eala has spoken about the challenges of being a Filipino on the tennis tour
Alexandra Eala has openly spoken about how her Filipino heritage impacts her life as a tennis player, touching on how it is difficult for her to obtain visas on short notice unlike players with more powerful passports.
"What's challenging is being able to travel with flexibility," Eala said to the press representatives from Philipines during her time at the Miami Open earlier this year. "As a tennis player, you need to be very flexible with your schedule. You're going to make a lot of last-minute choices, and it doesn't allow you time to organize all of this—every single time—to have the visas ready."
2025 has been a year of firsts for the 20-year-old Alexandra Eala on the tennis court. She made her Slam main draw debut at the French Open, and reached her maiden WTA 1000 final at the Miami Open.
Just prior to Wimbledon, she also reached her maiden WTA final at Eastbourne, but is yet to win her first title on the tour, losing out to Maya Joint in the final.
