Alex Eala’s tennis phenomenon is growing and changing the sport — everywhere she goes

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.

Karl 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.

The Grandstand at the complex has 2,800 seats, and with the demand for Eala skyrocketing, the choice to place her on Centre Court in the Wednesday night session made sense. Tickets sold out in 30 minutes, according to Hale. Multiple tournament volunteers who were given tickets for Wednesday night, had to exchange for a future session.

“A sold-out Wednesday night this early in the tournament is really unheard of,” Hale said in a news conference.

Gates opened at 5 p.m. for the night session Wednesday. In Toronto, there is ordinarily a laid-back atmosphere in the early rounds. Not this time. The pathway between food kiosks and brand activations was filled with people. There were Philippines flag or someone wearing blue or red at every turn.

Even the food offerings were getting into the Eala spirit. One vendor changed one of its dishes from chicken teriyaki to a Filipino chicken adobo rice bowl, in honor of Eala playing.

Warren Paul Catacutan, a Filipino from Toronto, organized a group gathering to watch Eala. He designed custom white T-shirts for his friends to wear. Plastered on the front was a circle with “Alex Eala” written on it, along with the words “rise, believe, inspire”, something he believes Eala is doing worldwide.

“Alex is putting the Filipino community on the map and giving inspiration to everyone,” Catacutan said in an interview.

Many Filipino fans attending the Wednesday night session hadn’t been to a tennis tournament before. That was the case for Michaella Saturio, a Filipino Toronto resident, who brought her father, Jhon, and aunt, Stella, to the tournament. They didn’t want to miss the opportunity to witness Eala in person, supporting an athlete on the rise.

“In Filipino culture, Filipinos support other Filipinos,” Saturio said in an interview. “Seeing her here in Toronto is such an opportunity for us to watch her.”

As Eala stepped onto the court for the match against Parks, the fans screamed at a sound so loud that the in-stadium host announcing her arrival was drowned out. Philippines flags big and small were waved. Others were draped on railings, akin to countries during World Cup matches. The bleachers and standing-room-only sections were full; one fan wore a blue dinosaur costume, draped with the Philippines flag, dancing to the stadium music and interacting with other spectators.

Once Eala started, the supporters cheered for every winner and break of serve she had. It wasn’t the smoothest of matches. After cruising in the first set, Eala was broken just once in the second, but it was enough for Parks to send the match to a decider. They had met at the Australian Open earlier this year on a much smaller court with just as raucous support. Parks won that match despite her every point lost being cheered ferociously.

This time, Eala remained calm. She started the third set immediately with a break, and even though she was broken back once, she never faltered. Her approach was “point by point,” she said in her news conference, seizing the opportunities presented to her in the big moments.

Having overwhelming crowd support also helps. Chants of “let’s go Alex, let’s go!” followed by two claps rang through the stadium all night. Signs that read “Ealamania” and “mahal kita” (I love you in Tagalog) were waved over and over.

As Eala worked her way through the third set and toward victory, the chorus of roars grew louder, peaking on match point, as Parks hit a forehand into the net. Eala raised her fist, letting the roars shower over her. Atmospheres and sounds like those in Sobeys Stadium on Wednesday are often reserved for a championship match in a Grand Slam, rather than the second round of a WTA 1000 event.

That’s the effect Eala is having on tennis with her growing popularity, and her fellow players are feeling the impact too. Jessica Pegula, who lost to Eala in the D.C. Open final, said her podcast saw huge growth on YouTube thanks to a campaign from Eala fans.

“It’s so great for the sport and great for all the players,” Coco Gauff said in a news conference. “It’s great that one player can bridge the gap between a sport and a nation that hadn’t had that representation before.”

The enthusiasm continued Thursday night in women’s doubles, as Eala paired with American tennis legend Venus Williams, in a resumption of their partnership from the Bad Homburg Open in Germany earlier this year. Eala and Williams lost 6-4, 6-3, to Miyu Kato and Liudmila Samsonova, but the two players walked off court showered in support yet again.

Williams had high praise for Eala after the match.

“Alex is a world star,” Williams said in a joint news conference. “She’s just incredible. Besides the fact of her tennis, she’s an incredible person, well spoken, and just an impressive young lady.”

Eala returns to singles action Friday, facing American Caty McNally. As she walked off Centre Court on Thursday night in defeat, the flags were still waving — a sign that whatever happens next, Ealamania isn’t fading.