Alexandra Eala is one of the most popular players on either the WTA or ATP Tours right now.
Eala enjoyed a breakthrough run at the Miami Open last year, where she reached the semi-finals, and she has continued to go from strength to strength ever since.
The Filipina is now one of the most watched players in tennis, and Eala made history for her country at Wimbledon this year after reaching the third round.
Greg Rusedski has been full of praise for Eala in recent months, and he has now explained why he thinks she is as popular as she is.
Greg Rusedski claims that Alexandra Eala is ‘box office’
Rusedski discussed Eala in the latest edition of his ‘Off Court with Greg Rusedski‘ podcast, as he was asked about her popularity.
The former US Open finalist was full of praise for Eala, with Rusedski calling the current world number 32 both ‘box office’ and ‘polite’ as two of the reasons why she is so popular.
“The Philippines, they haven’t had a superstar in tennis,” said Rusedski. “I can’t remember a Filipino tennis player that’s had the hype.
“[She] Has been junior world number one, has trained with Rafael Nadal, has beaten [Elena] Rybakina, [Elina] Svitolina. Won the tournament in Birmingham, supposedly there was 11 million people in the Philippines that watched that match, I mean which are astronomical numbers.
“I also heard that she’s got her own pink line of clothes coming out and her rating for Nike was like a five star rating for like in her contract with these sort of results.
“She’s box office, she’s polite, she’s a great tennis player. Wherever you go in the world, it doesn’t matter if you’re in Indian Wells, whether you’re in Paris, it’s almost like they are in love with her, they’re dedicated to her career and just love watching her. So she has a fan base that is second to none globally.”
Does anybody else even come close to Alex Eala’s popularity right now?
Greg Rusedski previews Alexandra Eala’s match vs Iga Swiatek
Eala will now play against Iga Swiatek, in her toughest test yet against the defending Wimbledon champion.
Despite Swiatek being a multiple-time Grand Slam champion, Rusedski admitted that he could not separate them going into their third round match, as he highlighted Eala’s better recent form.
“Very nerve-wracking for Iga Swiatek. They practiced together at the Rafael Nadal Academy, you’ve got to remember Eala has beaten Swiatek as well,” stated Rusedski.
“But Swiatek got her mojo back against [Karolina] Pliskova, very convincing one and two, opening round [she] struggled, we saw tears on the court, but that has kind of released her.
“…This is box office, this is as box office as today’s match between [Aryna] Sabalenka and [Jelena] Ostapenko, this is the one everyone wants to see in the draw, can’t wait for it.
“It’s a 50/50 phone a friend, I don’t know who’s going to win this one and that’s what I love about it. And the form player is Eala, it’s not Swiatek.”
Who will reach the fourth round of Wimbledon – Alex Eala or Iga Swiatek?
What a match this could be!
This will be a third meeting between Eala and Swiatek, with the two players winning one match apiece in their head-to-head so far.
Eala will also take to Centre Court for the first time when she takes on Swiatek on Saturday, July 4.
