Alexandra Eala has offered her take on how tournaments can encourage new tennis fans amid her own stunning popularity.
Despite never winning a WTA title, Eala is one of the most popular players in world tennis, garnering huge support at every tournament she plays in.
That support has continued at Indian Wells, where Eala has just become the first Filipina player to reach the Round of 16 at Indian Wells since the inception of the tournament.
Eala is through after the retirement of Coco Gauff, with the former having been tasked with discussing her popularity and its wider impact following the victory.
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Alexandra Eala offers suggestion to grow tennis community
It was put to Eala in her post-match press conference: “You have introduced a lot of people to the sport of tennis and coming to tournaments.
“What do you think tournaments can do to help encourage new fans who are coming into a sport that they might not know about but are interested in a specific player and want to learn more about the sport?”
She replied: “Well, I love that they’re… you know, it’s not just myself that has been bringing in different and new demographics into the audience and to the sport.
“Personally, I think one of the ways, I’m not saying that I know everything, but I think one of the ways is for the tennis community in general to develop in certain countries where tennis is not as big as other sports, I would say.
“So speaking from my experience, tennis has grown so much in my country, right, and I think that that really adds to the fact that they come and they support me, because tennis is so popular now. So people are developing genuine interest in the sport.
“Another example of what I’m saying is in Australian Open, there were four women from Southeast Asia in the main draw, so that attracted… so it was Lanlana [Tararudee], Mai [Hontama], Janice [Tjen], and myself, so that attracted another demographic that maybe was not so present in other years.
“Or another example is my friend Zeynep [Sonmez], she’s from Turkey, she’s been pulling in a lot of Turkish people and from the Middle East.
“So I think if tennis is able to develop in those countries, it will naturally grow the sport and naturally produce high-level competitors. That’s my opinion.”
It was an admirable response from world number 32 Eala, who at 20 years old constantly shows maturity beyond her years.
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Alexandra Eala’s dream Indian Wells debut run so far
Eala is playing with immense pressure on her shoulders, but the youngster has so far dealt with that pressure expertly.
She was under extra pressure against Gauff, having lost 6-0, 6-2 to the American just last month in Dubai.
But the tables turned at Indian Wells, with Eala leading 6-2, 2-0 when her WTA rival was forced to stop playing due to an arm injury.
Making her debut at Tennis Paradise in California, the Filipina superstar now takes on 14th seed Linda Noskova.
Eala will once again have huge support for her next match, which represents her first-ever meeting with the Czech ace.
And while she will be smart to not look beyond that match, many of her fans may already be getting excited about the quarterfinals.
| Round | Opponent | Score | Time |
| Round of 128 | Bye | – | – |
| Round of 64 | Dayana Yastremska | 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 | 2:43 |
| Round of 32 | Coco Gauff (4) | 6-2, 2-0 [Walkover] | 0:54 |
| Round of 16 | Linda Noskova (14) | – | – |
Should Eala make it past Noskova in the round of 16, she will take on the winner of Jasmine Paolini and Talia Gibson.
The favourite to emerge victorious from that clash will be the Italian seventh seed, who was beaten by Eala in Dubai last month.
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