Fast-rising international tennis darling Alex Eala has just concluded her run at this year’s US Open after a hard-fought battle with Iva Jovic. That’s a relatively deep run and a loss she didn’t give up so easily. And with every major spotlight comes the usual issues and discourse that hound all athletes in their respective primes.
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You see, the US Open dared to put Eala in the second-biggest court of the tournament, billeting her at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York City, which seats a maximum of 14,000 bodies. The crime here, according to longtime tennis fans and pundits, was that she was given a bigger stage than former champion and former WTA No. 1 (current No. 8) Iga Swiatek, who was relegated to “just” the Grandstand Stadium, which seats 8,125.
Add to that the constant attention and highlighting that she’s gotten from not only media outlets but also the events’ official social media accounts, effectively making her the biggest star of the sport right now despite not being its highest-ranked.
But this isn’t about the US Open
Eala, they argue, doesn’t yet deserve that kind of billing after only having won one WTA 500 title and still sitting at No. 18. But this also isn’t about the US Open—the rest of the tennis world is starting to turn on the seemingly forever-shining spotlight that the media and establishment are shining on Eala.
“Alex Eala in the last week alone has had an event for her at the US Open, was a guest of Vogue Magazine, invited to the Presidential Box, has articles with Sports Illustrated and Forbes, [was a guest on the] ‘Served Podcast.’ [Meanwhile] Linda Noskova, same age, just won Wimbledon, [No. 6] in the world, barely nothing,” notes controversial English tennis writer and commentator Pavvy G on X.
Many others on social media continue questioning these happenings—more from the US Open, and various outlets and brands, than Eala herself—basically pushing the same essential point: All this attention doesn’t befit a player who’s “only” ranked No. 18.
The Filipino effect
All this sports punditry and analysis from people who follow the game far closer and longer than I do, and they all seem to miss a crucial point: Alex Eala not only sells tickets, but she sells out stadiums.
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Meaning: If you expect the crowd, you need to be able to house that crowd.
This isn’t PR bluster—Eala-mania is an actual phenomenon that’s unfolding beyond Philippine shores. There have been sellouts for Eala matches throughout North America this year alone, and it’s only sharp business and sports acumen for the US Open to expect the same in New York, where there are an estimated 280,000 to 300,000 Filipinos residing in the state and surrounding areas, according to data from the US Census Bureau.
The Filipinos will follow Eala and seize any chance they could to watch the new pride of the Philippines do her thing on the court. Non-Filipinos, meanwhile, seem to be following suit and are trying to check out what the hype is all about, too.
And it doesn’t even matter that she isn’t World No. 1 or hasn’t won a major title yet—it’s good enough that she’s on this level, and ranking No. 18 in the whole world is no joke.
People only make it seem like it’s no big deal because it’s all numbers on a screen; few understand what those numbers truly mean in the reality of the sport.
Sports is an entertainment business
And even when you cite the very real need for the sport to make money off of a certified draw, these same fans will tell you that it’s still “disrespectful” to relegate higher-ranked players to smaller houses.
Perhaps it’s still a holdover from tennis’ posh and elite origins, who didn’t want to be associated with such trivial things as paying professional players a living wage because it was assumed that these people were well-off.
Though if we are to make women’s sports a viable career choice for everyone involved, we must allow them to make bank off people who want to see Eala play.
But what about other foreigners, and other ethnic communities who’ve also got stakes in the tournament? For example, Kazakh tennis fans are asking why No. 2 Elena Rybakina from Kazakhstan is also subject to the same “disrespect” when there’s also a community tuning in to watch her play.
Unfortunately, the answer is still the same—unless you can sell out stadiums and generate real ticket demand like Eala does right now, she and the establishment will continue to “disrespect” your favorites.
This concept seems to be a lot easier to understand if you come from other sports. In pro wrestling and other combat sports, the main event is ideally contested between the world champion and a challenger, but if there is someone more popular (but not necessarily as “talented” and “skilled”) on the show, they could go on last.
This has happened at least once with limited megastars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and John Cena—so Eala getting top billing is nothing unfamiliar to me and many of us.
You must do better than the Filipinos
The actual solution to the rest of the world’s “Eala problem” is easier said than done: beat the Filipino fans in this game.
Other players might technically be better than Eala, but it’s on her detractors to make sure that those same players can capture a whole people’s imagination much better than Eala does for the Filipinos—then get them to sell out multiple stadiums.
That’s the sports marketing game, that’s capitalism for you, and that’s how you break the chokehold. Good luck, though, because Filipinos aren’t letting go anytime soon.
Everyone feels it in their bones that Eala’s larger superstardom, despite losses, isn’t some random Cinderella run. We’re only still at the beginning.
