Alexandra Eala has proved she’s undoubtedly the most popular star in tennis during the first months of the 2026 season.
Eala nearly shut down the Australian Open for her first round match with Alycia Parks, which saw lengthy queues outside during the match.
The star’s popularity has continued to surge at the Philippine Women’s Open and the Abu Dhabi Open, where thousands of young fans have attended her matches.
Ahead of her appearance at the Qatar Open, Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig has shared her admiration for Eala.
Monica Puig’s message for Alexandra Eala after Abu Dhabi
Speaking to Arab News, Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig was asked to send a message to Alexandra Eala following her appearance at the Abu Dhabi Open.
Puig responded: “I think to enjoy it, embrace it. It also is a big responsibility because you are pretty much the face for your country.
“And I know the Philippines has had success in other sports, but Eala now being the face of tennis, Filipino tennis, and Janice Tjen for Indonesia. It’s really great to see these players coming from their countries and making a big boom.”
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Eala was, once again, a revelation with crowds at the Abu Dhabi, with fans flocking to her matches at the WTA event.
Puig has praised Eala for revolutionising the way the sport is watched, by several new fans to tennis.
She added: “To see their fan base also follow them is something really cool because it doesn’t matter if they know tennis, they don’t know tennis, they show up for their countrywomen.
“And it’s really been super exciting to see, especially here in Abu Dhabi, a lot of Filipinos here, a lot of Indonesian fans in here. So it’s been a pretty remarkable week.”
Puig dubbed Eala’s crowds “Absolutely wild” after watching the Filipina reach the quarter-finals of the events.
“They were just loud. They were so passionate and they were really trying to encourage Eala to win. And you saw that they were just suffering along with her.”
Alexandra Eala will be hoping for more of the same at the Qatar Open
The Filipina is set for an appearance at the Qatar Open next, where she has qualified by ranking for a WTA 1000 event for the first time.
Eala has been rewarded with a tough Qatar draw, with a difficult first round match against Tereza Valentova to come.
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The 20-year-old will be hoping for another raucous crowd to drag her over the line, which happened several times in Abu Dhabi.
Eala’s recent run of form has seen her hit a career ranking high of world number 40 with 1244 ranking points.
