NEW YORK — Alex Eala has been filling tennis stadiums all over the world this past year, buoyed by more than 11 million overseas Filipinos. Packed crowds in Australia, Dubai, Toronto, and this week, New York, have felt “Eala Mania,” decorating relatively docile tennis crowds with Philippine flags and “Laban Alex!” signs.
Eala is a complete anomaly for her country. No other Filipina had even made the top 250 before her, and she’s already cracked the top 20 before the year’s final major following her maiden WTA title at the DC Open earlier this month. The 21-year-old even has current stars already labeling her the future of the sport.
Her unprecedented ascent has led Filipino fans to fly across the country to see her play. One group even planned their college reunion around her first appearance at the Cincinnati Open a few weeks ago.
But because of the nomadic nature of tennis, Eala is barely able to witness how she’s impacting the other 117 million Filipinos in her home country.
“I think because I’m always traveling and I’m on tour, I’m quite out of touch sometimes with what my impact is back home, for the good and the bad. I think that’s why I said a couple of times that when I went back home, it really opened my eyes,” Eala said in response to a question from FOS at the Cincinnati Open.
