Alexandra Eala saw her dream start at the Australian Open swiftly devolve into a nightmare, as she suffered a first-round exit at the hands of Alycia Parks.
Having raced into a 6-0 lead, it seemed like the Filipino would be cruising into the second round with minimal fuss.
However, as her opponent sharpened her shots and cut out the unforced errors, Alexandra Eala seemed to falter.
Her attempt to outhit Parks proved to be an unsuccessful tactic, and the dream of a first main draw win in Melbourne evaporated.
Alexandra Eala speaks about the crowds at the Australian Open
And yet, despite the crushing nature of this loss, Eala cut an upbeat figure in her post-match press conference.
Admittedly, given the remarkable support she received from those inside and the many more who queued outside her stadium, it must have been difficult to stay sad for too long.
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Speaking about the huge backlog of people clamouring to catch a glimpse of her, the 20-year-old was asked about whether the Australian Open made a mistake by not scheduling her in a larger arena.
However, she danced around the question by thanking those in attendance: “Yeah, it was so heart-warming. That’s one of the things that makes a loss like today a little bit harder, is I know a lot of people were rooting for me.
“But then again, Alycia played really well. And you know, I just hope that the support continues with the losses along with the wins. I think that would really touch me.
“But then again, the fact that everyone came out and really squeezed into that cosy court, I really appreciate it. I felt so loved. Even when I was 5-2 down in the third, you know, still felt the love.
“So I’m really appreciative and super thankful, yeah.”
Then asked whether a big crowd increases pressure, Eala added: “Yeah, it’s a process to take it all in. I think this week definitely there were elements that were a bit overwhelming, especially during my practices. I didn’t expect that many people to be there. So it’s a learning process, like anything.
“You know, losses is part of the learning process. The trainings are part of a learning process. So I’m just trying to take it in.
“I’m still young, 20, so learning how to deal with all of this attention, but then at the same time being grateful, yeah.”
Alexandra Eala is easily one of the WTA’s most popular players
Eala has spoken about her impact on tennis in the Philippines at length, but to see how her support translates all over the world speaks volumes for her global popularity.
After all, there were hundreds lined up outside the Australian Open’s Court Six, desperate to see this prodigious young talent.
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It might seem strange that a player from a country that has had very little prior association with tennis is so enamoured with the sport, but that newfound popularity has to be attributed to Eala.
Last year, she broke seemingly every Filipino tennis record, simply by featuring in Grand Slam tournaments or reaching WTA-event finals.
It will be intriguing to see how she continues to progress in 2026, hopefully taking expanding the sport too, given her undeniable popularity.
