On Women's Day, Alex Eala delivers a stunning win and honors those who came before her

On a day dedicated to celebrating women, Filipina tennis star Alex Eala delivered a performance worthy of the occasion.

The 20-year-old tennis ace shocked world No. 4 Coco Gauff in the Indian Wells Open Round of 32 on Sunday (Monday morning in Philippine time), although the match ended prematurely after the American star retired due to injury. Eala walked off with a 6-2, 2-0 win to advance to the next round.

But Eala didn’t make the victory all about herself. She took a moment to honor the women tennis players who came before her, recognizing their role in paving the way for future generations and helping make the sport what it is today.

Among those women is Gauff, whom Eala wished a speedy recovery after the American exited the match early in Set 2 with an apparent left shoulder injury.

"First and foremost, I wanna say happy women’s day everybody. Bear with me because I have a lot to say. I wanna say thank you to all the incredible women who have paved the way and who have advocated for themselves for other women, among them is Coco," Eala said. 

"So, thank you Coco for being an amazing competitor and amazing role model and I really hope everything is well and you will recover soon."

Of course, Eala also gave a salute to her mother, Rizza Maniego-Eala, who played a pivotal role in shaping her into the tennis star she is today.

"I also wanna say happy women’s day to my Mom, who is there in the stands. I wanna thank her for being the amazing woman that she is and for helping me become the woman that I am," Eala added.

"And that goes to all mothers."

Although it was a bittersweet victory for Eala, the world no. 32 Pinay still soaked in the moment as she now moves on to the Round of 16, where she is pitted against world no. 14 Linda Noskova. 

"I really didn’t wanna win this way, but this is still a really big moment for me to be able to play on the stadium of the Indian Wells and against such a great competitor," Eala said. 

"I’m really grateful to be here and I’m super happy."

—JMB, GMA Integrated News