SEA Games gold becomes a 'special' family moment for Eala

Alex Eala and her parents celebrated the women's tennis singles gold medal she bagged in the 2025 SEA Games to end the Philippines' nearly three-decade title drought. (Photo: POC/Facebook)

The Southeast Asian (SEA) Games had a special place in the hearts of the family of Filipina tennis star Alex Eala.

Her mother, Rizza, formerly represented the Philippines in the 1985 SEA Games as a swimmer and won a bronze medal in the women’s 100-meter backstroke in Thailand.

Forty years later, in the same country, she and her husband, Mike, watched their daughter end the country’s gold medal drought in the women’s tennis singles in the 2025 SEA Games. Eala followed the footsteps of Maricris Fernandez, who won the event in 1999.

For the Eala family, it's a full-circle moment as Alex continued their winning legacy in Philippine sports history.

Eala shared the gold medal with her parents after the awarding ceremony at the National Tennis Development Center in Nonthaburi, Thailand on Thursday, December 18. She even hung it around her mother’s neck.

“It's so special. I think, yun nga, I've said many times before, ‘yung mga Pinoy, we're so family-oriented. I think that's a part of our culture, and you know, the SEA Games is something. I think it's very different from the [Women’s Tennis Association] Tour because it's very personal to us, personal to the Southeast Asian countries, and it's special in that way,” the 20-year-old talent told the Philippine Olympic Committee, as quoted by ABS-CBN Sports.

“It's unique [SEA Games] and it doesn't happen every time so kaya siya ganun ka-importante at kahalaga sa aming pamilya,” she added.

Her parents have been supporting the once-touted prospect from the sidelines since she began pursuing tennis at the age of eight. 

In 2018, they sent the then 13-year-old Eala to the Rafa Nadal Academy, which provided her with the quality coaching and facilities needed to compete at the highest level in the competitive women’s tennis landscape.

Though the family sometimes felt the weight of this decision, seeing the current world no. 53 fulfill her dreams makes it all worthwhile.

“In any sport, to compete internationally, you have to travel a lot. So, travelling a lot and training overseas costs a lot. We are lucky enough that we have some sponsors along the way to help us with the expenses,” said Mike in an exclusive interview with Spin.ph. “We set priorities and we try to manage the priorities kung saan tayo makakausad.”

Such a bond between Eala and her parents has been widely observed among Filipino families, according to a 2010 study. It stated that being family-oriented for Filipinos means exhibiting emotional closeness with the family, and children recognizing the debt of gratitude to their parents and paying respect to them.

In the story of the Eala family, Alex understood that she wouldn’t be where she is right now without her kin’s sacrifices.

“The best thing I can give them in return is, of course, success. But more than results or anything like that is to be a genuinely good person,” she said.

From Rizza's bronze in 1985 to Alex's gold in 2025, the Philippines could only wait for what's next for the Eala family.