By MARK REY MONTEJO
There are countless ways to describe how special the bond is between grandparents and their grandchildren, as well as the many ways both sides reciprocate their love for one another.
For country’s tennis star Alex Eala, her way was remembering her late grandfather Roberto “Bobby” Maniego, who passed away in 2019, in her every victory.
The 20-year-old Eala often thought of her grandpa Bobby, particularly during her winning moments.
“Yeah, my grandpa was a very big part of my life and of my early career. He was my coach ever since I started up until I moved to Spain,” said Eala.
“And I think about him every once in a while when I have good results, and I guess that happened quite often last year, which is a good thing,” she added.
Maniego, the father of former national swimming team member Rizza Maniego-Eala, was once a coach to siblings Alex and Mikko backed by longtime junior mentor Karl Santamaria, who eventually answered the national team call-up after two years with Ealas.
Though Maniego and Santamaria parted ways, They still had an active communication, conversing the pointers and additional skills for Alex and Mikko.
The WTA No. 49 Eala also thought of what would be her gramps Bobby’s reaction to her current success on the global stage.
“And, yeah, sometimes I think [about] what he would tell me or how he would feel or how he would look or how he would react, if he saw all that I’ve achieved today,” Eala continued.
“But he’s always been so supportive, and he’s always sacrificed a lot for me, and even when I wasn’t at this level or famous or anything like that, he was there, showed up every day,” she concluded.
“And I think that just reflects on how much love he has for me and the family.”
