Filipina teen tennis sensation Alex Eala’s parents called out the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) for its claims of giving financial support to their daughter’s training and 2020 junior Grand Slam stints. (RECAP: How Alex Eala marched to a historic French Open semis stint)

“For the record, we have not received any of the funds in millions of pesos mentioned,” wrote Alex Eala’s mom and former Southeast Asian Games swimming bronze medalist Rizza Maniego-Eala on a Facebook post, Saturday, October 10. (FAST FACTS: Who is teen tennis sensation Alex Eala?)

“In fact, we have been trying to reimburse Alex’s travel expenses for the Australian Open that happened last January, but we are being given a run around at the PSC.” 

“I kid you not, our documentation is 2 inches thick with receipts, boarding passes, etc, but we are asked to submit more and wait for different people to report for work.” 

In a now-deleted post on Facebook, PSC claimed that it had backed Eala with “P3 million for her tournament travels and two-month training in Europe, US, and other parts of the world.” 

It also added that the amount was given on top of the “P1.5 million assistance approved for her 6 international tournaments since January 2020 as requested by the Philippine Tennis Association (PHILTA).”

PSC later posted an erratum explaining there is an approved board resolution regarding the matter, but the documents needed are still being processed.

“There was and is NO support in the form of ‘two-month training in Europe, US and other parts of the world,’” said Maniego-Eala. 

“The support mentioned in this post were promised verbally, in fact, several times but I reiterate, we have NOT received any of it.” 

Eala’s dad Michael also echoed the same sentiments that they have not received “a single centavo” yet. 

The family has been trying to reach out to officials from the government sports agency, but has not received a reply. 

The 15-year-old Filipina secured a historic semifinals appearance in the 2020 Roland Garros girls singles tournament. 

The stint made Eala the first Pinoy in 35 years to nail a junior Grand Slam last 4 berth since Felix Barrientos in the 1985 Wimbledon juniors tournament.

Her incredible run followed after she won a 2020 Australian Open juniors doubles title with Indonesian partner Priska Nugroho last February.

The world No. 4 juniors player is currently a scholar at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain.  – Rappler.com