“Growing up it was tough… You didn’t have anyone from where you’re from to pave the way. Of course, you had many people to look up to around the world, but I think – I hope this takes Filipino tennis to the next step,” Eala said in her on-court interview. The Filipino teen had lost to Polina Kudermetova in the semi-finals of the 27th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge in Dubai in December last year.