TORONTO — As Alex Eala began her post-match interview Wednesday night at the Canadian Open, she addressed the crowd in the only way that was fitting: In her native tongue.As Eala pumped her arms in the air after a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 win over Alycia Parks of the U.S., a sell-out crowd of just over 10,000 waved their Philippines flags and roared for her as she asked for louder cheers in Tagalog.Then Eala explained the phenomenon that has followed her around the world, as she has risen up the tennis rankings since a breakout run at last year’s Miami Open, in English.“There’s so many Filipinos in the crowd, so many flags. Thank you!”Eala, 21, has drawn crowds at every event she has played, from Grand Slams to smaller tournaments. She has been making tennis history for the Philippines — an archipelago of 7,641 islands and more than 110 million people — since she was a junior.But in the past month, her popularity among dedicated tennis fans and her stardom in her home country has extended into a much wider consciousness. After a run to the fourth round of Wimbledon which included a victory over defending champion Iga Świątek, Eala last week won her first WTA Tour title at the D.C. Open in Washington.Diaspora populations in tennis cities have long showed up and shown out for their players, but the confluence of Eala’s rising status in tennis, and the Philippines’ embrace of not just a new sporting hero, but a new sport, is a singular phenomenon. In Toronto, which has the largest Filipino diaspora in Canada, the support has been overwhelming.“It’s the pleasure of my life to experience crowds like this,” Eala said in her news conference after the win.How Alex Eala is making history on the WTA TourAva WallaceKarl Hale, the Canadian Open tournament director, noticed the phenomenon of Eala’s fandom at this year’s Qatar Open in Doha. She lost in the first round to the Czech Republic’s Tereza Valentová in straight sets, but the crowd support left an impression on Hale.Then Jason Maglantay, Tennis Canada’s head of ticketing, who is Filipino, told Hale he’d been hearing from members of the Philippines diaspora in Toronto, who were following Eala’s on-court results and off-court activities. When she was a direct entry into the Canadian Open as a seeded player, Filipino fans contacted Tennis Canada asking when she was going to play.Tournament organizers mulled when and where to place her first match. It was a tough decision given the depth of the field, with 72 of the top 75 players on the WTA Tour scheduled to play. This quandary has followed tournament organizers during Eala’s rise, and has often led to her playing on small courts which cannot accommodate the fans who want to see her play.