By MARK REY MONTEJO
With her resilience on the court and beauty queen-like poise and beautiful answers after every match – win or loss – Alex Eala has continued to win over fans, perhaps even critics, as one of tennis’ current stars.
Her growing popularity has also impacted the whole Mubadala D.C. Open event, with tournament chairman Mark Ein revealing the high demand for tickets in the Filipina ace’s matches, resulting in an 80 percent increase in ticket sales.
“I will say, over the last month the ticketing team says at least 80%, if not more, of the requests in this tournament are about when is Alex Eala playing?,” Ein said.
“Honestly, I think it’s more, and they just didn’t want to say it was more, but they’re, like, virtually all. It’s not an exaggeration. That’s actually what they tell me,” he added.
Ein also called Eala an icon and a phenomenal who, for him, the greatest thing that happened in this year’s competition.
“When you look at the amazing players here and how many great stars there are, it says something about Alex’s following. Obviously, she’s been an icon, becoming an icon in the Philippines, but worldwide. So, there’s obviously Filipinos everywhere,” Ein continued.
“I will say, earlier this year in the early spring our team said, this is a phenomenon that’s spreading, and we should try to get Alex to come to Washington,” he concluded. “Having her here is honestly one of the really great things that’s already happened this year.”
The 21-year-old Eala recently barged into D.C. Open quarters after completing a redemption win against Leylah Fernandez, a Canadian of Filipino descent, 6-2, 7-6 (1), in the Last 16.
This comeback triumph made Eala’s maiden run much more impressive at D.C., and also it further boosted her popularity – which started in last year’s Miami Open where she beat several Grand Slam champions including Iga Swiatek of Poland – on American soil and also the world.
Eala, currently No. 28 in the WTA rankings, tries to extend her quest for glory when she eyes another win over world No. 10 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in the quarters.
