Flushing Meadows, New York — Four hours before 21-year-old tennis phenom Alex Eala stepped onto the main court for her 2024 U.S. Open first-round match, the practice courts were already packed to capacity. In the stands, waving Filipino flags and wearing custom blue caps emblazoned with the phrase “Laban Alex” — Tagalog for “Fight on, Alex” — dozens of fans gathered just to catch a glimpse of their rising idol hitting practice serves and groundstrokes. What makes this scene even more remarkable? Most of these supporters did not even hold tickets for the evening’s main draw match, yet they traveled from across the U.S. and even the Philippines just to cheer Eala on.
Eala’s rapid ascent up the professional tennis rankings has turned her into a national sensation in the Philippines, and her rapidly growing, fiercely loyal fanbase has followed her across the globe to every major tournament. This summer alone, the charismatic 21-year-old notched a career-defining upset over world No. 1 Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon and claimed her first ever ATP Tour singles title, catapulting her to a career-high world ranking of 18th. She lived up to the hype in her first-round U.S. Open clash, breezing past Mary Stoiana 6-1, 6-2 to secure her spot in the second round, closing out the match with a signature confident smile.
For many fans in the practice court stands, Eala is more than just a talented tennis player — she is a trailblazing representation of Filipino pride in a global sport long dominated by athletes from larger nations. Andrea Belen, a 21-year-old premedical student at New York University who originally hails from a Filipino family based in Cleveland, said she never considered herself a diehard tennis fan before Eala’s rise. Now, watching Eala compete has become a full family hobby: her father, back in Cleveland, has picked up tennis fandom purely out of admiration for the young star, Belen explained.
“In the Philippines, basketball and boxing have always been the most popular sports, and all our biggest sports heroes are men,” Belen shared. “It’s so special to see a young Filipino woman competing and winning at this level. On top of that, she still speaks our native Tagalog — that connection means the world to all of us.”
Belen and her friend Sarah Frederick arrived at the practice courts hours before Eala’s scheduled session, correctly guessing that seats would fill up fast with fellow fans. During the practice, Belen even called her father on FaceTime so he could watch Eala hit strokes from thousands of miles away.
Ellene Santos, a 67-year-old fan who traveled from Orlando, Florida, also skipped securing a main draw ticket, saying just getting to watch Eala practice was enough to make the trip worthwhile. “I’m happy now, just to be here,” Santos said after calling out a cheer of support to Eala mid-practice.
A group of four retired Filipino-American nurses echoed that sentiment, wearing matching “Laban Alex” hats as they left the practice court. Joy Rodriguez, 65, said her devotion to Eala stems from the star’s unapologetic pride in her Filipino roots. For 67-year-old Maria Espiritu, the trip to the U.S. Open to watch Eala marked the first professional tennis tournament she has ever attended.
Not even international distance stopped devoted fans from making the trip. Frances Arespacochaga, 77, a resident of Manila, was already visiting her sister in Massachusetts when she decided to drive down to New York just to see Eala compete, bringing a Filipino flag with her to the match. “She’s very intelligent, very articulate, and you can see her strong values in every interview she gives,” Arespacochaga said of the young star.
Belen noted that Filipino fans have a long tradition of rallying behind their homegrown athletes who break through on the global stage, pointing to gymnast Carlos Yulo’s historic two gold medal wins at the 2024 Paris Olympics as a recent example. “We’re not a very large country, so every win a Filipino athlete gets means that much more to us,” she explained. “And we are very loud when it comes to supporting our people.”
If Eala continues her winning streak through the later rounds of this year’s U.S. Open, that crowd noise from her passionate fanbase is only going to get louder.