Tennis is one of the grand sports where well known players like Maria Sharapova, David Adams, Andre Agassi hit the World Cup series who travel the world for a match. Now, the Philippines has an arising international world class champion, a young master, Miko Eala.
So when did Miko start hitting the ball with his racket?
Even before going to school, Miko trained with his grandfather. But Tennis wasn’t his first sports. He tried soccer and swimming. They started practicing 3 times a week at the tennis court.
Miko Eala , at age 12, has won 4 trophies over a span of 2 weeks during the 14 under Boys ATF Lebanon Week 1 and Week 2 Tennis Championships held in Damour Country Club, Beirut. The first week was on May 5-10 wherein Miko won the doubles championship with his partner, Jalal Sadek from Lebanon then completed the week to win the singles title with a score of 6-1, 6-2 over Rahul Jaideep from India.
The second leg started on May 11 wherein Miko again partnered with Sadek to capture the doubles title. His winning streak continued as in the singles category. He again ruled against his opponents that included Kohki Dohi from Japan and capturing the title vs finalist, Timothy Rutherford from Great Britain.
This brings Miko’s trophy haul to 4 during the 2-week stint in Lebanon. These twin wins will bring back his ATF Ranking to #1 for 14under boys (Note: he has yet to turn 13 and he is already #1 in Asia). In late April, Miko was also awarded a U$5,000 grant by the Asian Tennis Federation from the Olympic Solidarity Fund. This grant can be utilized towards his tournament traveling and tennis training.
Miko’s next major tournament will be in Cacak, Serbia this June.
Was tennis his first love?
Apparently not. Kids really try out a lot of things before they find their true loved sports. For Miko, he tried swimming and soccer which later find it boring.
So when did he start loving Tennis as a sport?
At age 3, he started swinging the racket and hitting the ball with his grandfather, who is his mentor and inspiration to tennis. They started practicing 3 times a week in the Village Country Club. But soon as he started going to school, his love for Tennis grew more and he practiced 2x more from 3 days to 6 days.
Tonight’s pic message from my son: “I won Mom”… after getting his second singles 14U ATF Championship in Lebanon… can’t wait to have him back home :):) #ThankYouLord #ProudMom #Back2Back
Is Miko the only one playing Tennis in the family?
Well, you haven’t seen the last of the Eala’s as Miko’s younger sister Alexandra, also plays Tennis. At age 10, Alexandra, continues to train for her upcoming major tournament in Croatia. She will be joining the Smrikva Bowl, one of the most prestigious 10under tournament in the World wherein only #1 nationally ranked 10-year olds are qualified to join. She has been ruling the local scene by garnering a total of 9 championship trophies that includes and MVNP award in 4 tournaments: 15th Tru-Flex Age Group in Alabang, 14th Annual Toby’s, 7th Alabang 10-18 Championships, and Milo-Technifibre. She continues to hold the #1 ranking for 12-under girls in the Philippines. Her total trophy count is at 56 and she also has 12 tennis medals.
In the next few years, the Eala siblings Miko and Alexandra will play for the Philippines in the International World Cup championships. Glory to the Philippines!
Wishing the best for both of you!
