Who is Alex Eala? The young tennis star making history

Earlier this month at the Canadian Open in Toronto, home to Canada’s largest Filipino diaspora of more than 270,000 people, 21-year-old tennis star Alex Eala, currently ranked world No. 18, drew sold-out crowds of more than 10,000 spectators to each of her evening matches. Among them was a highly anticipated doubles appearance alongside the iconic Venus Williams. Yet long before Eala even stepped onto the court, an incredible energy could already be felt throughout the stadium: Filipino flags and their distinctive colours were everywhere, fans shouted their support in English and Tagalog, and a local food vendor even hastily added traditional dishes such as chicken adobo and lumpia to the menu. To the uninitiated observer, the entire atmosphere felt more like a raucous basketball game than a tennis match.

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Eala, however, has grown accustomed to this wave of increasing popularity since her breakthrough at the 2022 US Open, where she won the junior singles title and became the first Grand Slam champion in her country’s history. In the year and a half since her sensational run to the semi-finals of last year’s Miami Open, where she defeated no fewer than three Grand Slam champions along the way, her unprecedented success has not only created a new sporting icon for the Philippines but also sparked a full-blown tennis craze across the nation.

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“At first, it took me by surprise because I couldn’t understand how Filipinos could feel so deeply and passionately about what I do,” Eala admits over coffee after a late-night victory in Toronto. “It was difficult for me to accept the fact that I had become famous.” Over time, however, she came to understand and embrace the fact that, to her young fans today, she represents what her childhood idols Maria Sharapova and Li Na once represented to her.

Born and raised in Quezon City, just outside Manila, Eala comes from an exceptionally athletic family. Her mother, Rizza, won a bronze medal in swimming at the Southeast Asian Games before becoming the chief financial officer of a major telecommunications company, while her uncle Noli is a former senior official in Philippine basketball. The credit for her tennis journey, however, belongs to her late grandfather Roberto, a recreational player with no formal coaching experience, who introduced her to tennis when she was just three years old and guided her development over the following decade. Roberto’s original idea was quite simple: to help Alex and her older brother Miko secure athletic scholarships at American universities. (Miko later went on to play for Penn State University.)

Every day after school, Eala trained on courts made from crushed shells, a distinctive clay-like surface characteristic of the area (her local club also had just one hard court, which doubled as a basketball court). It was there that her grandfather Roberto created an intense and exceptionally disciplined training environment that Eala believes transformed her somewhat cheeky nature, as she describes it, into steely and unwavering determination. “His influence on my life is enormous, which is why I think of him whenever I achieve something significant,” says Eala. “He and my parents gave my brother and me a strong foundation, not only for tennis but also for dealing with high-stakes and stressful moments in life.”

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After defeating future Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova and winning Les Petits As in 2018, one of the world’s most important junior tournaments for players under 14, Eala was offered a scholarship to the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca. Moving halfway across the world at such a young age would have daunted many teenagers, but Eala embraced the opportunity wholeheartedly. Her older brother joining her for the first two years, along with regular visits from her parents, provided additional encouragement.

“By the age of 13, I had already travelled quite extensively and experienced different cultures,” says Eala. “My friends were also from all over the world, so adapting wasn’t as difficult for me as people might think. It was simply the kind of environment I was used to. Of course, being away from home and my family was difficult, but the excitement of being there outweighed everything else.”

With her crafty left-handed serve and flat, relentless groundstrokes honed at the academy, Eala soon emerged on the women’s Tour as a player capable of threatening the biggest favourites. In her first two years at major tournaments, she recorded victories over a host of Grand Slam champions, including Iga Swiatek, Naomi Osaka, Elena Rybakina, Madison Keys and Jelena Ostapenko, as well as established top players such as Jessica Pegula, Elina Svitolina and Jasmine Paolini. (Just one day before arriving in Toronto, Eala became the first Filipino woman to win a WTA 500 title, at the tournament in Washington.)

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The rest of the tennis world has certainly taken notice of her ascent. In Toronto, Venus Williams called her a “global star”, while Coco Gauff added that everyone in professional tennis should wholeheartedly embrace the new Filipino audience Alex is bringing to matches, “because we all benefit from it”. Jessica Pegula’s podcast, which she hosts with three other American players, including Madison Keys, saw a sudden surge in subscribers after Pegula played Eala in the Washington final.

Eala herself has noticed a major shift in the Philippines, where more and more people are picking up rackets, searching for available court time and only just learning the proper rules of tennis. “You have passionate sports fans, girls who love dressing up for matches, kids who are thrilled to play with their friends. Everyone is gradually realising that this is a sport for everybody,” she explains.

Following her historic run to the last 16 at Wimbledon this summer, she received a hero’s welcome in her native Manila. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. even held a formal reception in her honour at Malacañang Palace, something Eala says she could never have imagined while dreaming of great tennis success as a child. “Just the fact that I was in the presidential palace, or seeing all those people who came to welcome me at the airport!” she says with heartfelt emotion, adding with a smile: “I even had a fan meet-and-greet at a shopping centre! I feel like a mall meet-and-greet is such an iconic experience for every celebrity in the Philippines.”

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All this media attention has forced her to change the way she moves around Manila, “especially if I come home immediately after results like these. It’s still fairly unfamiliar territory for me,” she adds. “I’m still learning how to deal with it.” During her most recent visit, she had to use security to accompany her to professional engagements. Apart from that, “I literally just stayed at home,” she says. “Even going out for coffee with my dad was a pretty wild experience. People were simply everywhere around us.”

At the end of the day, Eala stresses that she is really just an ordinary girl who is still developing her style and identity. Like most members of Gen Z, she is quite dependent on the internet and spends a little too much of her free time watching YouTube videos. She particularly enjoys clips from SNL and Key & Peele, while comedy series are her favourite form of relaxing entertainment. Her everyday playlist features an eclectic mix of artists including Olivia Rodrigo, Olivia Dean, Bad Bunny, Raye, Royal Otis, The 1975, Young Miko, Sombr, Sienna Spiro, Doja Cat, Daniel Caesar and Rosalía.

Over the past year, Eala has worked to build a more fulfilling life away from the tennis court. She is deeply committed to forming friendships on the Tour and now counts fellow players Eva Lys, Iva Jović, Vicky Mboko and Zeynep Sönmez among her closest friends.

Having a rich personal life outside sport has also helped her cope more easily with all the noise and pressure surrounding her meteoric rise. “I know very well what it takes to stay where I am,” she says calmly. “I’m prepared to tell myself the harsh truth: if you don’t meet the standard, you won’t be here. That’s why all this love and support I’m receiving can’t blind me.”

As she gradually shifts from the role of challenger to that of the player everyone is chasing, Eala feels an even greater hunger to push her own limits. “I don’t think you stop being the hunter even when you’re number one in the world,” she says, adding with a laugh: “If I ever get to number one, I’ll be able to tell you firsthand. But I believe the hunt never ends.”

Unsurprisingly, Eala’s goals are to win a Grand Slam tournament and an Olympic gold medal. “Everything is open and everything is on the table,” she says with an easy smile. Yet, much like her mentor Rafael Nadal, Alex is primarily focused on drawing the absolute maximum from her potential. “I hope that when my career is over,” she concludes, “I’ll be able to look back and say to myself: Okay, that really was the very best I could ever give.”

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