Alexandra Eala’s popularity has skyrocketed ever since she made it to the semi-finals of the Miami Open last year, but that growth has shown no signs of slowing down.
In fact, as she continues to establish herself as a mainstay on the WTA Tour, she is almost single-handedly increasing interest in tennis across the entire Philippines.
Having enjoyed great sporting success with Manny Pacquiao, Alexandra Eala seems to have already taken the mantle, helping boost the profile of her sport in the process.
This year’s Australian Open offered a visual and rather startling example of just how popular she has become in seemingly such a short space of time.
Does anybody else even come close to Alex Eala’s popularity right now?
And yet, one WTA rival has now argued that her fans are even better than the Filipino support that follows Eala wherever she goes.
Alexandra Eala told there are better tennis fans than her Filipino support
Speaking after her recent loss to Amanda Anisimova, having enjoyed a fine run to the Australian Open fourth round, Wang Xinyu wanted to thank her fans in her post-match press conference.
However, she actually wanted to emphasise just how impressive they were by comparing them directly to Eala and her Filipino following.
She claimed: “Yeah, I mean, not just today. This past week I’m feeling like I feel all the love, all the support from them. You know, we always talking about Eala and how she gets so much support from the Filipinos.
“But I think if you look at it, I think the Chinese fans, they’re even, I would say, honestly, even better. Yeah, I’m going to leave it, like, there.
“Also, they’re coming to my match and then, because you can tell, like, there are a lot of fans that have been following me for, like, longer periods already. So I really appreciate that. I hope to see them more often.”
This seems like a curious fight for Wang to pick, particularly after Andy Roddick branded Eala’s support at the Australian Open ‘crazy’.
Alexandra Eala’s fans caused the Australian Open to shut down
It feels strange for anyone to compare their support to Eala’s, considering how outrageously popular she now is.
Even Joao Fonseca, who boasts the support of all of Brazil, would likely be impressed by just how strong the Filipino cause is.
For her opening-round match against Alycia Parks, which she lost, huge crowds gathered outside of Court Six, unable to gain entry into the packed-out arena.
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In fact, many complained about the Australian Open’s inability to prepare for such demand, having taught the organisers a lesson on the power of Eala and her fans.
The Chinese fans are likely just as vocal as the next set of supporters, but the 20-year-old from the Philippines is one of the most popular players on the entire WTA Tour because of her fanbase.
