By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Filipina tennis superstar Alex Eala and Spanish partner Marina Bassols Ribera pulled off a major shocker in the ongoing IV Araba World Tennis Tour Feminino last July 19, 2023, held at the Peña Vitorian Tennis Club in Spain.
The unseeded tandem surpassed the expectations of the majority after stunning the second-seeded Indian pairing of Ankita Raina and Prarthana Thombare- 6.2, 6.2-.
From the get-go, Eala and Ribera controlled the pace of the game and didn’t allow the Indian tandem to capitalize on their baseline strengths.
Known to be a heavy groundstroke duo, the Indians had difficulty in gaining their forehand rhythm after the unseeded pair took the game in the net.
As Ribera continuously went to her serve-and-volley, Eala was prepared for the Indian’s thrown lobs and scored several smashes that were always short due to the Spanish’s service power.
The Indians attempted to go with the flow and went toe-to-toe with their opponents’ style of play but that gear change went worse for them as Eala and Ribera were playing magnificent tennis in the no-man’s land.
Eala and Ribera then notched the full momentum of the match when they scored an early break at the start of the second set, breaking the Indian’s rhythm when they held all of their next service possessions.
Raina and Thombare are no strangers to the professional doubles level. The duo holds a list of awards from the International Tennis Federation and even competed in some Grand Slam events.
After her stint in the ongoing IV Araba World Tennis Tour Feminino, Eala is yet to decide if she will go home to the country to train with the national team for the upcoming 2023 Asian Games.
Two months ago, the young Filipina ace was already listed as a part of the country’s official roster in the sport confirmed by Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Bambol Tolentino during another edition of the Philippine Sportswriters Forum.
“In tennis, I’ve already put the name of Alex, she will play for the individual category,” said Tolentino during the press conference.
