Alex Eala turned into sand art by Surigao Del Sur artist

An artist from Surigao Del Sur has turned Alex Eala's popular photo into sand art.

The photo was from the Pinay tennis sensation's Wimbledon run in London, when she dived to the grass to hit the tennis ball.

The 6 x 8 meter sand art was done along the shore in Tandag City, Surigao Del Sur, as seen in Kuya Kim Atienza's report on "24 Oras."

"Ginuhit ko po si Alex Eala dahil sa contribution niya sa bansa natin," said the artist, Papalo Saranza.

"Nagbigay po sila ng karangalan sa bansa natin. Mas na-i-inspire ako mag-drawing sa ganung klaseng tao," he added.

Papalo started creating sand art in 2024. He wrote his greetings on the sand for his child's birthday, then took a photo of it using a drone.

"Para medyo kakaiba naman po 'yung greetings ko sa kanya," he said.

Papalo would draw on wet sand then would add highlights using white sand. He said it takes four to five hours to create a portrait, and the weather is also a challenge.

Aside from Alex, Papalo has created sand art of Bruce Lee, Bob Marley, Kuya Kim, and basketball player Rene Baterbonia.

"Masayang-masaya po, lalo na kung kuhang-kuha mo talaga," Papalo said.

According to Kuya Kim, sand comes from the breakdown of rocks and other natural materials due to the wind, rain, and waves over a long period of time. The process is called weathering and erosion.

Aside from rocks, sand comes from corals, seashells, and even from volcanoes. Under a microscope, sand grains have different colors, shapes, and compositions.

Alex recently made history at this year's Wimbledon after making it to the Round of 16. She was the first Filipino player to have achieved the feat in a Grand Slam singles tournament in the Open Era.

The Filipina tennis ace engineered an upset against former world no. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland before she bowed out of Wimbledon with her loss to Italy's Jasmine Paolini.

The tournament marked the end of Alex's impressive grass-court season, during which she captured the WTA 125 title in Birmingham and reached the semifinals of the Berlin Tennis Open. —Nika Roque/MGP, GMA News