WELL-KNOWN fashion magazine Vogue took notice of Alex Eala’s fashionable patriotic statement a week after her memorable Wimbledon women’s singles debut against Czech defending champion Barbora Krejcikova at Center Court of the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, England.
“Ahead of her debut match, Eala received a personal gift from Nike (her official outfitter and sponsor): a sampaguita hair tie enclosed in a white box lined with a miniature tennis court,” Vogue writer Lawrence Alba reported.
“Tucked inside was a note (from Team Nike), transforming the gesture into something deeply emotional and symbolic,” the report said.
“The sampaguita: delicate, radiant, resilient, is more than the Philippines’ national flower. It is strength. It is belief. It is home. And today, you carry it with you,” it said, adding, “Every dream begins as a seed. Kung may tinanim, may aanihin. And what you plant, you’ll one day reap.”
The note likewise acknowledged her tremendous effort, dedication and discipline to rise from obscurity to her current lofty standing as No. 56 in the Women’s Tennis Association world rankings.
“Over the last decade, you’ve planted it all – the hours, the grind, the quiet resolves,” it said so that “now, here you are, a Filipina on the grass courts of history. Not only for herself but carrying a national in full bloom.”
Eala’s response on her official Instagram account was just as poignant.
“The sampaguita—the flower of my country. A reminder of where I come from and everything that brought me here,” Eala wrote with a picture of her and the sampaguita hair tie featured prominently.
But while her Wimbledon singles outing may have been fleeting, dropping a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 decision to Krejcikova in the opening round, the Vogue article pointed out that Nike’s gesture “stands out as an example of brand storytelling that feels intimate, intentional, and rooted in cultural pride.
“In Filipino culture, the flower symbolizes purity, simplicity, humility, and strength; values mirrored in Eala’s quiet determination and dignified presence on the world stage.”
