Alex Eala honors the Philippines with Sampaguita hair tie at Wimbledon
Alex Eala proudly brings a piece of her homeland onto the world’s most prestigious tennis stage in Wimbledon. Photo from alex.eala/Instagram
After making waves at the Lexus Eastbourne Open, Filipino tennis star Alex Eala continues to turn heads, this time not just for her performance on the court, but for proudly bringing a piece of her homeland onto the world’s most prestigious tennis stage in Wimbledon.
Fresh off her historic runner-up finish in the WTA 125 final at Eastbourne, Eala shared a deeply meaningful gesture, which is a custom-designed Sampaguita hair tie gifted by Nike, inspired by the Philippines’ national flower.
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“The sampaguita – the flower of my country. A reminder of where I come from – and everything that brought me here,” Eala wrote on Instagram. “Ang sampaguita ay paalala ng aking pinanggalingan at ng kulturang lagi kong dala-dala.”
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Her statement, paired with a photo of the flower-themed hair tie nestled in a pristine white box, captured hearts across social media.
The inscription inside the box read, “Kung may tinanim, may aanihin,” a Filipino proverb that translates to, “If you plant something, you will harvest something.”
The phrase perfectly mirrors Eala’s steady climb in the world of professional tennis.
“Now, thanks to @nike, I get to bring all of that with me onto Wimbledon Centre Court — bitbit ko sa bawat galaw,” she added.
Eala’s recent rise has been nothing short of inspiring. Despite a hard-fought three-set loss to Maya Joint in the Eastbourne final – 4-6, 6-1, 6(10)-7(12)—she called it “one of the toughest losses” of her career. Yet, her runner-up finish propelled her to a new career-high of World No. 56 in the WTA rankings, the highest ever by a Filipina.
Even tennis legend Rafael Nadal, her longtime mentor, acknowledged her progress following the match, adding a personal touch to her breakthrough moment.
During the first round at Wimbledon, Eala bowed down to defending champion and world No. 16 from Czech Republic Barbora Krejcikova in a tough three-set duel, with Eala taking over the first set, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1.
