HUA HIN, Thailand – For a second consecutive year, Alexandra “Alex” Eala of the Philippines is among the recipients of the $25,000-fund from the Grand Slam Player Development Programme (GSPDP) of the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

The ITF program, established in 1986 by the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and US Open, seeks to support players from developing tennis nations in their quest to compete in international events, including the grand slams.

“I’m super blessed to still have this great privilege, to still receive the development fund from ITF. It’s definitely motivating that I am being supported by ITF, and I hope that it’s worthwhile. I’m working really hard, so I’m happy that they see that,” Eala said in an exclusive interview with ABS-CBN News during this week’s Thailand Open, where she lost in the first round to 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria of Germany after qualifying for a WTA main draw for the first time.

• Tennis: Alex Eala loses to Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria in Thailand Open

The 17-year-old Rafa Nadal Academy scholar was first named as a GSPDP recipient in 2022 after being part of the ITF Junior Player Grants Programme in 2021.

The former Juniors World No. 2 has three junior grand slam titles from the 2020 Australian Open girls’ doubles, 2021 Roland Garros girls’ doubles, and 2022 US Open girls’ singles.

On the ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour, she is a two-time singles champion after conquering the 2021 W15 Manacor in Spain and 2022 W25 Chiang Rai in Thailand.

Currently ranked 217th in the world by the WTA, Eala achieved a career-best ranking of No. 214 in October, making her the highest-ranked Filipino in WTA history.

Such achievements have made Eala among this year’s 51 GSPDP grantees, regarded as “the game’s future stars” by the ITF.

“We firmly believe that all talented young players should have the opportunities to fulfill their potential, no matter where they live or the resources available to them,” ITF president David Haggerty said in a statement.

Grand Slam Board executive director Ugo Valensi added, “As many of our former recipients continue to build their professional careers and achieve outstanding results, it is heartening to see the impact the Programme can offer to emerging talent around the world.”

• Thailand's Srichaphan praises Alex Eala as an inspiration to Asian tennis

Among the esteemed GSPDP alumni are grand slam champions Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil, Simona Halep of Romania, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan.

Other grant recipients who are current top players include World No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, and two-time singles grand slam finalists Ons Jabeur of Tunisia and Casper Ruud of Norway.

Since 1986, the ITF has delivered over $58 million to nurture player development globally through the GSPDP.

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