The Filipina tennis star has reflected on her growing fame back home in an interview with the The Sit-Down podcast.
Credit: Beatriz Ruivo / Alvara Isidoro
The numbers don’t lie. When Alex Eala plays tennis, people watch — in their millions.
When Eala speaks, people listen. A lot of them.
When journalists, commentators or fans talk about Eala, people tune in.
In every sense, the 20-year-old has been a phenomenon in the tennis world since she burst onto the scene with her Miami Open run to the semi-finals in April 2025.
But that run, and the further success she has enjoyed on tour has come at a cost, as she explained in an interview with The Sit-Down podcast.
And when it comes to visits back home, which she conceded are all too infrequent, life is much tougher now than when she was more obscure.
“Things have changed to say the least,” she told the Australian Open’s official podcast. “I try to avoid going out alone now.”
‘I feel pride when I get support’ from the Philippines
When asked what it meant to represent the Philippines and play with that support, she said: “I feel like the biggest advantage of of representing my country is is the community and the pride that I can I’m able to bring when I do well, to my people. And they come out, they support, they really make the effort. So I’m so appreciative.”
Do fans go too far in their Eala support?
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No, the more excitement they bring the better
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Yes as they don’t respect tennis etiquette
‘I really look up to Maria Sharapova’
When speaking to The Sit-Down, Eala also reflected on how she ended up choosing tennis over other sports and professions.
“I got into tennis because of my brother, he’s three years old, and he started playing tennis, so when it came to the time for me to pick up a sport, I think they (my parents) just threw me in with him. And I’m loving it.”
“Obviously Rafa Nadal was a big one. On the girls side, I really looked up to Maria Sharapova and Li Na, then a bit later on (Simona) Halep and (Ash) Barty.”
Career-high ranking for Eala
Buoyed once again by the fervent support of the Filipino diaspora in her most recent tournament in Dubai, Eala claimed a third career top-10 win, over Jasmine Paolini, en route to her second WTA 1000 quarterfinal.
As a result, Eala has leaped 16 places in the world rankings, from No. 47 to No. 31, which marks a career-high for the Filipina.
Eala’s next tournament in the 2026 season is set to be the Indian Wells Open, which gets underway at the beginning of March.