“Tennis is a perfect combination of violent action taking place in an atmosphere of total tranquility.” —BILLIE JEAN KING
 
ANYBODY can win the Mubadala DC Open, a tennis tournament, which, in terms of prestige, sits below the four Grand Slam tournaments: Wimbledon, The US Open, The French Open, The Australian Open.

But not all tennis players in the world can beat truly four world class Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) behemoths en route to capturing the Mubadala DC Open, recognized as the only combined ATP 500 and WTA 500 joint event globally, held annually at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Washington, D.C.

Which was what Pinay phenom, Alexandra “Alex” Eala did.

Because of the quality of rivals Eala, 21, mowed down to become the first Filipino to bring home the 57-year-old tournament and the first joint-500-level event on the ATP and WTA tours, it didn’t matter what kind of tournament she won.

What matters most is Eala will now be remembered in history as having pulverized Olympic heroine Zheng Qinwen, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the round of 32.

China’s Qinwen, 23, is the Paris 2024 Olympic Games gold medalist in women’s singles tennis who defeated Croatia’s Donna Vekic 6–2, 6–3 to become the first Asian tennis player to ever win an Olympic gold medal in singles.
 
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What matters most is Eala upset defending champion, Quebec-born 23-year-old half-Filipina, Leylah Fernandez, 6-2, 7-6(1) in the second round.

What matters most is Eala also crushed world no. 10 Elina Svitolina, 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals (her third win over the 31-year-old Ukrainian star).

What matters most is Eala trounced four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, 28, in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. For many Filipino tennis fans, the dangerous Japanese needs no further introduction.

What matters most is Eala outgunned 32-year-old two-time Mubadala DC Open queen Jessica Pegula, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, in the final on August 3.

It’s hard to imagine how a player like Eala, rated no. 28 in WTA rankings, was able to wreck the aforementioned WTA superstars in one tournament one after another to seize her new career-high rank.

Climbing from No. 28 last week, Eala has now gained 500 ranking points from her maiden Tour-level title to raise her total points from 1,666 to 2,106.
 
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Below we chose only four of the few Filipino underdogs like Alex Eala who scored scintillating upsets and shook the world of sports:


1.     Rafael “Paeng” Nepomuceno
2.     Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco
3.     Efren “Bata” Reyes
4.     Carlos “Caloy” Yulo

NEPOMUCENO. Honored by the Guinness Book of World Records four times, Nepomuceno, 69, carries three unbroken records: 1. The youngest World Bowling Champion at 19 years old; 2. The most world crowns in three different decades; 3. Winning the most worldwide titles in a career, establishing this record in 2007 with 118 titles then in 2013 with 124 titles. In 2019, Paeng eclipsed his own record with 133 titles. The Quezon City-born bowler is the only athlete who has won bowling titles in six succeeding decades: 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s.

VELASCO. Onyok, 52, is one of the three Filipino heroes in the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games winning the gold medal the 48 kg (light flyweight) by whipping Thailand’s Pramuansak Phosuwan, 11-9.

Onyok’s biggest achievement was in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games where he narrowly missed the gold medal in the 48 kg after losing to Bulgaria’s Daniel Petrov Bojilov, 6-19, to claim the silver medal.

Onyok was impressive on his way to the final, blasting Taiwan’s Chih-Hsiu Tsai by RSC (referee stop the contest) a 2:27 in the first round; destroying the dreaded Cuban Yosvani Aguilera (Cuba), 14–5, blanking Morocco’s Hamid Berhili, 20–10; and shaming the multi-titled Spaniard Rafael Lozano, 22–10.
 
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REYES. Bata, 71, captured the billiard community’s imagination when he rolled past Taiwanese Chang Hao-ping, 17-8, in the 1999 World Pool Championship in Cardiff, Wales at 49 to pocket the $60,000 top prize.

On his way to the final, Reyes subdued nemesis Germany’s Ralf Souquet, 11–7, and Japan’s Akikumo Toshikawa, 11–9. He survived the tournament’s toughest test versus Jimmy White, burying a brilliant kick shot on the 2-ball before clearing the table.

In the semifinal, Reyes overcame an early 3–1 deficit against compatriot, his kumpadre Francisco “Django” Bustamante by winning seven racks in a row for a dominant 11–4 victory.

YULO. Who can forget Caloy’s record-breaking two-gold haul in gymnastics at the 2024 Paris Olympics? In ruling the men’s floor exercise and vault, Caloy, 26, became the first Filipino male athlete and the second Filipino overall to win an Olympic gold medal.

Like many gymnastics stars before him, diminutive Yulo took to the sport naturally. Yulo, who hails from Malate, Manila, and his grandfather, Rodrigo Frisco, went to a Manila public park when he was seven years old.

While his grandfather looked on, Yulo, who now resides in his property Tagaytay City, took an interest in a young gymnast practicing in the park, mimicking his moves with such ease that Frisco decided to take his grandson to a gymnastics class with coach Rodrigo Ortero at the Rizal Memorial Complex.

Caloy’s potential soon caught the attention of Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) president Cynthia Carrion-Norton. When the gymnast was 16, she facilitated Yulo’s move to Tokyo to train under Munehiro Kugimiya years later.

And the rest is history.

Alex P. Vidal, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed