Sweet homecoming

Alex Eala will be armed with experience, fame and, possibly, a career-best Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) ranking when she competes in the Philippine Women’s Open (PWO) starting Monday at the newly-refurbished Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in Manila.

Despite making an early exit in the Australian Open, the Rafael Nadal Academy-trained netter is still expected to make a massive boost in her ranking following a semifinal finish in the Auckland Open in New Zealand and a victory in the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne that served as her warm-up tournaments for the season-opening Grand Slam event.

Her new ranking will be announced on Monday morning (Manila time) and sideliners believe that she will make it inside the world top 45 — her highest standing since turning professional in 2020.

But Eala is neither concerned with her newfound fame or career-best ranking.

“I honestly haven’t seen those numbers. I take everything with gratitude. I’m nowhere near the league of (Novak) Djokovic, (Carlos) Alcaraz, or (Aryna) Sabalenka. I have so much respect for them,” said Eala, noting that she will just keep on competing to make her country proud.

“But I like to think I have a following for a reason, and that the platform I’ve built has a positive impact on my demographic.”

In a social media post, she thanked those who supported her in her Australian Open journey.

“Being able to play here is such a privilege! One that must be earned, but a privilege nonetheless,” Eala said.

“Learning, growing, enjoying. Thank you, Melbourne.”

The 20-year-old Eala truly gained a lot of experience from her Australian Open bid.

With a large Filipino crowd rallying behind her, Eala pulled off a stunning first-set victory before losing steam and bowing to world No. 99 Alycia Parks of the United States, 6-0, 3-6, 2-6, in the Round of 128 of the women’s singles event last Monday.

She teamed up with doubles specialist Ingrid Martins of Brazil, but they also suffered an early exit following a 6-7, 6-2, 3-6 loss to Magda Linette of Poland and Shuko Aoyama of Japan in the Round of 64 of the women’s doubles event.

But the international tennis community had already taken notice of Eala’s growing popularity with no less than former Australian Open champions Lindsay Davenport and Martina Navratilova stressing that she needs to compete at a bigger venue to accommodate her fans.

Tennis website Tennishead.net reported that Davenport tried to watch the Eala-Parks duel, but she couldn’t make it inside as she got caught in the middle of flag-waving Filipino fans lining up outside Court 6.

The Filipino crowd had eventually gotten so big that some of them were moved to Court 7, where organizers set up a giant LCD screen so that they can see their hero competing against the best players in the world.

Even Parks admitted that facing Eala with a huge crowd rallying behind her was “very difficult.”

“She probably needed to be on a bigger showcourt,” said Davenport, who won the Australian Open crown in 2000, Wimbledon in 1999 and US Open in 1999.

“She — I think — is probably the most famous female from the Philippines, certainly one of the most famous people ever to come through there sporting world, and there were so many fans here who were just waiting to get in there.”

“I just wanted to go see Alycia Parks play… you weren’t getting anywhere near that court.”

The Australian Open organizers apparently underestimated Eala’s ability to draw a crowd.

Her competition venue — Court 6 — is often reserved for rising stars and fringe players as it can only accommodate less than 1,500 spectators. On the contrary, heavyweights like Sabalenka, Coco Gauff or reigning champion Madison Keys are competing at the cavernous Rod Laver Arena, which can accommodate around 15,000 fans.

Navratilova stressed that Australian Open organizers should base their court assignments not just on their rankings but also on their popularity.

“The organizers need to keep more in mind where the players are from and what the actual fanbase is here,” the 18-time Grand Slam champion Navratilova said, adding that she was surprised at how the Filipina commanded such a massive crowd.