By Danilo P. Padua, PhD
I have always enjoyed watching practically all sports games, live or on TV, especially those involving Pinoy athletes. It’s some sort of a hobby for me, if you can call it as such.
I even follow the odyssey of most Filipino sports heroes since I was in high school. My love for sports even led me to join sports quiz contests during my school days!
I have never witnessed the adulation of fans to a Filipino sports great during their early stage of journey to international fame, greater than that of Alex Eala of lawn tennis. Manny Pacquiao’s worldwide fame was earned only after some years of high profile fistfights staged abroad. Pacquiao of course, is a household name around the world, and his niche in the firmament of world sports is safely secured
In lawn tennis, the normal route to prominence is thru high rankings, obvious statistics, game results, and trophies earned. This is true to the Women’s Tennis Association and the Association of Tennis Professionals for men. The better and consistent game results, the more trophies could be earned leading to higher ranking. The higher the ranked is, the more marketable tennis players become. Consequently, they command bigger courts, accorded better attention, get more lucrative business deals, and sell more merchandise.
That was the normal, until Alex Eala came along. She is turning the well-accepted and workable formula of the WTA into shambles, or rather, into a new paradigm.
Alex Eala is considered by many as the most compelling WTA player at the comment. In Press conferences before a tennis tournament, she gets more views than any player of any gender showing that her mere presence in a tourney generates more attention for the competition. This has been proven by statistics from tournaments such as the Australian Open, Dubai Open, Indian Wells, Miami Open, Linz Open, Stuttgart, Madrid Open and Rome Open-all major tournaments.
That’s why, tennis analysts concur that her entry in a tournament elevates it, not the other way around. In fact, her mere practice sessions attract large fan interests, considering them like championship matches. That’s how compelling to watch Eala is, as a player.
For this, Eala has to thank her Filipino fans who follow her anywhere she plays. She is so grateful to her fans describing them as, loud and proud. They are really proud and love her so much in return.
But the fact is, she is not only adored by Filipino fans. In ASEAN, especially among Vietnamese, Thai, Indon and Malaysian fans, she is claimed as one of their own-with pride. When she was paired together with another rising Indonesian tennis player, Janice Tjen, in a doubles match, they were dubbed as SEAsters.
With her humility, indomitable spirit, resilience, character, discipline, intelligence and genuine affection to ordinary people and towards all, Alex had also gained fans worldwide, especially in Africa, Middle East and Europe. What’s more , the rest of Asia have embraced her as the new “tennis ambassador” for Asia, much like what Naomi Osaka of Japan, Li Na of China, and even Sania Mirza of India did earlier.
This 2026 is the year that she started to become a full-time WTA tour player but her true rise to stardom, and social explosion started a year earlier during the 2025 Miami Open tournament, a top tier tourney, where she beat for the first time, three former Grand slam champions in succession, to reach the semi-final. To date, she has already beaten at least 4 top ten players showcasing her great talent to compete with the best in tennis. The highest rank she has reached so far is #29.
She is currently ranked #42 as she is playing at the moment in the Rome Open, seen by others as the next to the 4 Grand Slams in tennis. Only the top 32 are ranked in this event. As this piece is being written, she already hurdled her first round opponent and is waiting to play her second round match against a ranked rival.
With the loud and proud Filipino fans in the stadium, the unabashed adulation by other fans, and the comments/ criticisms by analysts and commentators, Eala humbly interjected, “If you don’t have that spoonful of gratitude or you don’t have that guidance or that you don’t have a clear idea of who you are or what you are going through, you can get lost in all these things.” Sagacious comment of a player on a mission to succeed!
And her being a Filipino is not lost on Alex. She said,” I’m known as the Filipina on tour. I therefore try to present a Filipina, the best way I can. Fil fans are amazing, always showing a sense of community. She even proudly walked on the carpet wearing a Filipina dress, during the April 2026 Laureus Global Sport Awards Night in Madrid, Spain, where she was critically acclaimed.
Win or lose, Eala continue to flip the established order in WTA tournaments. Ranking points, statistics, results, number of trophies appear to matter no longer in the usual scheme of things. This is a unique development that big sponsors are taking into account for marketing purposes, but slow to put into the equation by WTA honchos.
Eala is taking over the WTA even without winning big tournaments? She is getting business deals even bigger than some of the established superstars in the sport. But I believe that it is safe to assume that she could start winning them, including some Grand slams, by 2027.**
